


Of Rocks, Romantic Rivalries, and Rune Rangers

by ruff_ethereal



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, F/M, Gen, Multi, Rivalry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-10-03 14:44:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10249088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruff_ethereal/pseuds/ruff_ethereal
Summary: In which Allura and Shiro fight over Pidge's Heart, and Pidge is oblivious.





	1. After Action Report

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the “Avalon” universe, a fantasy/sci-fi world.
> 
> There are two races, Humans, who are immigrants from the “Old World” (Earth as we know it), and the Fae, a humanoid race with animal features like tails, ears, claws, and so on, who are vastly more muscular and speedy than humans, and generally have more powerful magical capabilities.
> 
> Humans (or appearing almost completely human) are Shiro, Lance, and Keith.
> 
> Fae are Allura (bunny), Coran (Weasel), Hunk (Wolverine), and Pidge (Chinchilla).

“I've been bested... by a rock...” Allura muttered, her bunny ears drooping in sadness.

The Core was deathly silent, the mood dark like they had just received information that the Galra had wiped out one of their most populated cities off the face of the realm, just like that. Lance sulked in his chair, face scrunched up in consternation, Coran drummed his fingers on the table, his weasel tail wagging in frustration behind him, trying to will something, _anything_ from his mind to come screaming forth, but the only ones that did were of absolutely no use.

“I've been bested by a ROCK!” Allura cried, clearly on the verge of tears. **“How** , in my _father's good name_ , have I been _bested_ by a **rock?!”**

Lance and Coran looked uneasily at each other.

“Well, it _is_ a very nice rock...” Lance started.

“One with an interesting pattern of moss growing on the side of it, according to the Lady Pidge...” Coran added.

“So what, am I going to have to go around all of Avalon looking for a rock more special than it to win her heart?!” Allura cried. “What even makes that rock so special? Is it an act of human courtship that you haven't explained to me, Lance? Have the Celestian Fae started giving rocks to each other as a form of affection during my 1,000 year slumber? Is this some sort of secret code from her days in Jahilliyah, where they gave their lovers rocks so none of their superiors could tell they were fraternizing within the ranks?

“You know what? _Forget it!_ Coran!: what does my schedule look like for going around Avalon looking for rocks?”

Coran pulled out his tablet. “Well, your majesty--”

“No, _no,_ _ **no!”**_ Lance cried, crossing his arms in the air. “You are _not_ going out there and looking for rocks!”

“Because you're going to do it for me?” Allura asked, brightening up. “Oh, _thank you,_ Lance, that'll be such a _huge_ help!”

“ _No!_ I'm not going to go out there to find rocks for you!”

“Not even if I command you as your Rune Guardian...?” Allura asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lance paused, surprised that such a gesture could look incredibly threatening, before he put his arms up in the air. “Okay, first up: no, _please,_ no, don't use your freaky Crystal Maiden powers to force me to go out there looking for rocks.

“Second: seashells are MUCH better, because they're not friggin' _rocks,_ it _reeks_ of desperation to try to one-up the other guy with the exact same thing they already impressed the girl with, and walking on the beach or diving for them is _so_ much more exciting than walking around mountains and forests looking for **rocks**.

“And third: I'm pretty sure that Shiro's giving that rock to Pidge is totally a sentimental value thing. I don't know what the hell happened with them on that hike of theirs, but it's _definitely_ gotta be something _super_ romantic, _super_ exciting, _super_ badass, or knowing Shiro, all three at once.”

“ _But what could have happened?”_ Allura whined.

“Maybe a giant wild boar chased Pidge up a tree, then Shiro risked his personal safety leading it away with rocks, and he happened to have that one left over in his pocket when he finally came to save her?” Coran offered.

Lance thought it over. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Allura sighed. “I feel positively _terrible_ for wishing that it was me in Shiro's position...”

Elsewhere, Keith and Shiro lounged in the Dining Hall, waiting for Hunk to work his magic with a nigh unlimited supply of fresh ingredients from all over Avalon.

The round table was unusually quiet, both because Shiro looked like he had just narrowly survived a suicide mission that shouldn't have worked _nearly_ as well as it should have, and Keith was busy looking at him with a mixture of pride and smugness.

“Still can't believe it, huh?” Keith asked.

“I'm… I'm _really_ surprised and pleased that your advice worked, Keith,” Shiro replied. “Is giving rocks some sort of traditional gift of affection among you Fae/Human hybrids?”

Keith shook his head. “Nah. You could say it was just a lucky guess.”

Shiro chuckled. “Luckier still that it worked so well.”

“So how'd it go down?”

“Well, we were hiking through Argus, enjoying the scenery...”

“Yeah, lots of pretty green things to admire there,” Keith said.

Shiro blushed. _“Yes,_ the vegetation is indeed quite lush and impressive. Thankfully, the animals either recognized the both of us from our earlier fights there, or they just didn't deem us worth the effort of attacking, so we made it through the whole trip unmolested.

“Pidge got tired from all the hiking, so I offered to carry her on my shoulders. But, she said she didn't want to be a burden, so we decided to take a break on a large rock.”

Keith groaned. “Come on, Shiro, really? That was a prime opportunity you let pass, just like that.”

Shiro frowned. “I wanted to respect her wishes!”

“I can understand that, but sometimes you have to man up and take control! Girls don't like total pushovers, and Pidge doesn't strike me as the kind of girl that dresses up in tight leather outfits, and forces guys to kneel before her and call her 'mistress.'”

Shiro paused, blushing bright red.

Keith's expression slowly, _slowly_ fell. “… _Okay:_ let's just agree to forget I ever said that last part.”

Shiro nodded. “Agreed...” he muttered.

“So, you two were sitting on a big rock taking a break, and…?”

“I noticed there were many smaller rocks lying nearby, ones she could easily carry in her pocket,” Shiro said.

Keith raised his eyebrows. “And then...”

“I remembered your advice, so I think to myself, 'Here goes nothing…', pick one up, and offered it to her.”

“What'd you say?”

Shiro paused. “'Hey Pidge, look at this rock.'”

Keith blinked. “And…?”

Shiro looked away. “… That was it.”

Keith sighed and shook his head. “You're never going to win her heart if you don't take a chance, Shiro! Especially with Allura using all those shitty pick-up lines she got from Lance!”

“Have you even heard some of them?” Shiro countered.

“Unfortunately, _yes!_ But the point here is, they still make her laugh, and I'm pretty sure you're aware that there's no better way to get a girl to fall for you than getting her to smile on a regular basis.”

Shiro blushed. “Well, she did say 'Oh, sweet, dude, thanks!' and smile when I gave her that rock!”

“What kind of smile? The polite, 'Oh, I'll just put this over here' smile? The 'I don't know what this is all about, but it's from you so that makes me happy' smile? Or an 'Oh _wow,_ something I really like from a guy I really like!' smile?”

“… I really don't know.” Shiro said. “She was _very_ excited about that rock, you see, examining it, noting that it had an interesting pattern of moss growing on it, asking me what I should name it, and I was…

“… Distracted.”

Keith sucked in a deep breath, and sighed. “Okay, I won't fault you for that. But you _did_ make your move afterward, right?”

Shiro didn't answer.

Keith leaned in. “Shiro, _please_ tell me you didn't waste that etherian opportunity to tell her how you really feel.”

“… She really loved that rock, you know,” Shiro muttered as he looked down. “I… I didn't want to spoil the moment!”

“Or you were just so distracted by her cuteness that it _totally_ slipped your mind that you could have easily slid a confession in.”

“… That too.”

Hunk arrived with two steaming plates of food, with an extra-large one for himself. “Dinner is served, you guys!” he said as he laid it out in front of them.

“Thank you, Hunk,” Shiro said, smiling as he inhaled the delicious aroma of freshly cooked food.

“It smells great, and probably tastes even better!” Keith said as he prepared to dig in with his hands.

“ _Probably?”_ Hunk asked in mock offense.

Keith made a pleased noise as he bit into his food. “Sorry: _definitely_ tastes even better.”

Hunk smiled, pleased. He sat down at a free seat, before he stopped. “Aw, man! I forgot the hotsauce!”

“I'll get it,” Shiro said as he got up.

“Thanks, Shiro!” Hunk said as he nibbled at the parts of his meal that could do without it.

“Don't mention it—it's the least I can do!” Shiro called back.

Back in the Core, Lance held up an ancient human tape measure, pulling it down to roughly where Pidge's head would be relative to him. “So then you say, 'Any guesses as to how long it'll take for you to fall for me?”

Allura was unamused. “Lance, that is one of the _worst_ pick-up lines you have ever suggested I use.

Lance sent the tape back into the case. “Well how bad is it?”

“Let me put it in terms you will understand: I am _sorely_ tempted to take that tape from you, smack you across the head with it, and find out how long it takes to beat the shit out of you.”

Coran was confused. “But the device measures distance, does it not? Unless I can't see how it can keep track of time...”

Lance wisely pulled the measuring tape out of Allura's reach. “No, no, it's a pun, you see? Pidge likes puns when they come from you, doesn't she?”

Allura sighed. “Yes, they do seem to delight her to no end, which is _wonderful,_ especially considering I feel pieces of myself die from uttering those words, then come back to life with her smile...”

“You're exaggerating a little too much there, princess!” Lance said. “Hyperboles are all about knowing just how far to stretch the truth.”

“You assume I am speaking figuratively, you are _sorely_ mistaken,” Allura said flatly.

Lance turned to Coran. “My pick-up lines aren't _that_ bad, are they?”

“Well, I can't accurately say seeing as I'm not human, and myself and Princess Allura have been in cryostasis for the past 1,000 years, but I _can_ say that all those witticisms of yours wouldn't have earned any positive attention from potential mates among the Fae in our time, even if they could understand Nivian!

“As you probably already know from your studies of Actaeon, we Fae are very fond and discerning of our puns!”

Allura sighed as the two of them started to argue about the merits of Nivian vs Actaeon when it came to wordplay and flirting. She got up, and the two looked at her and stopped.

“I appreciate the effort you two are putting into helping me win Pidge's heart, but I think we should concede defeat this time…” Allura said as she stepped out of her chair. “Now if you'll excuse me, I'm heading to the dining hall to make myself some tea.”

“You sure I can't just make it for you, your highness?” Coran asked as he got up off his seat.

“No thank you, Coran, I could use the walk,” Allura replied as she waved her arm in front of the doors, the runes in the ancient stone slabs glowing bright before they slid apart for her.

She sighed as she walked down the grossly incandescent halls of Rune Terra, completely lost in her thoughts. She could have made the trek asleep, with how many times she had made that same trip from the Core, the castle completely unchanged from the 1,000 year hiatus the Rune Rangers had taken from protecting Havalon—or as she supposed she was going to have call it now, Avalon.

She wondered just how different things would have been, if a different team had risen up before Shiro and the others.

Wondered if her father and his fellow warriors' sacrifice to defeat Zarkon and the Galra Empire the first time around had actually brought peace to the land like they thought it would, and hadn't opened up the gigantic power vacuum it did.

Wondered if the erstwhile alliance between the native Fae and the just-landed humans hadn't quickly dissolved when the loss of a common foe highlighted and exacerbated the many more differences between the two species, sadly not helped by the Fae's heavily conservative traditions.

So it was an honest surprise to her when she mechanically reached up to a cabinet and found it already open, and more so that she was right beside Pidge. “Oh, Pidge!” she cried, a light dusting of red appearing on her cheeks. “I'm so sorry, I was so lost in my thoughts I--”

She finally noticed that the vertically challenged Emerald Ranger hadn't noticed her either, too busy standing on her tip toes, reaching upwards to the top shelf, and tragically coming just short of the box of Rollio's she wanted.

Allura smiled at Pidge. “Need some help, Pidge?” she asked sweetly.

“Oh, no, it's fine, Princess!” Pidge said, her voice strained, her chinchilla tail stiff and shaking from the stress. “I can… _almost_ … reach!”

Allura chuckled. “Oh, it's really no trouble, Pidge, I can get it for you,” she said as she began to reach out for it.

“Actually,” Shiro said as his artificial arm came into Allura's vision. “ _I_ can get it for you instead; I need to get hot sauce for Hunk anyway.”

“No, no, it's fine!” Allura said she grabbed one of the floating sections of rock that made up Shiro's prosthetic arm, pushed it down so hard the other pieces hung in the air for a moment before the magic keeping them together caught up.

“ _I've got it,”_ she hissed through a smile, eyes glaring daggers at Shiro.

Shiro glared at her right back, electricity crackling in the air between them.

Pidge slowly lowered herself back down to the floor, eying the both of them in turn, the ears atop her head pulling back in worry.

“ _Please,_ don't worry yourself, princess,” Shiro said with a forced smile of his own. He put one foot closer to the counter, prepared to move in and block Allura's way. “Let me just--”

_Crack._

“ _Ngh--!”_

Pidge looked down, and saw Allura had “accidentally” stomped on Shiro's foot as she moved in herself, blocking his way.

“You and the others have already done SO much for me!” she trilled as she reached up to the shelves, pulled down the box of Rollio's and a bottle of hot sauce. _“Let me return the favour...”_ she growled.

Shiro quickly wrenched his foot back, wincing as he put it down on the floor.

Allura turned to Pidge, smiling sweetly as she held the box to her. “Pidge~” she trilled.

Pidge looked at Shiro, back at Allura, and slowly took it from her. “… Thanks, Princess...” she muttered before she scurried off.

“It's no trouble at all~!” Allura called out after her. She turned to Shiro, the smile on her face disappearing in an instant. “Shiro,” she said as she held out the bottle of hot sauce to him.

Shiro angrily snatched it from her hand. “Thank you, Princess,” he growled, before he limped away on one foot.

Peering around the corner from the entrance, Pidge watched as Allura turned back to the counter and began to make herself a cup of tea.

She sighed as she made her way back to her room, idly ripping open the box of Rollio's. “I guess Shiro's in the doghouse again...” she muttered as she dug in for a package of sweet, cream-filled cookies.

“Wonder what he did wrong _this_ time…?”


	2. Lessons from Ignorance

As the Actaeon saying went, <Your vision is never clearer than when you are looking over your shoulder.>

It was embarrassing, really, a sign of how far she'd let herself fall from her glory days, a gaffe that if she were still in Jahilliyah have put her career in serious jeopardy and wiped away a good chunk of the reputation, trust, and goodwill she'd built with her superiors and their numerous clients and contacts.

After all, how could you trust an information broker that couldn't see what was right under her nose?

As it stood, however, she just had her heart broken twice over.

It started with a trip to Shiro's room, a week earlier.

She had been planning to ask him out on that hiking trip to Argus for a while, but with the Galra's constant attacks and suspicious activities all over Avalon, it was hard to find a free day where you were reasonably sure that the fate of the realm as they knew it wouldn't be threatened, and you could spend a good chunk of the day outside of Rune Terra—Argus especially.

There were _very_ good reasons that the human settlers had been completely unable to expand Solaris into the swamp region until the Fae let them: it was isolated from the cities and difficult to maneuver even with flying vehicles, full of magical interference that made communications and teleportation into and out of it difficult, and offered no shortage of places for a guerilla force to successfully hide in, waiting for their target to come obliviously waltzing on by, as the Celestian Fae had 1,000 years ago with the First Settlers.

It was a great place for an ambush, a kidnapping, or a covert assassination, with the bonus of the location providing free and thorough clean-up, no need to throw the bodies into a bog—it'd _happily_ do the work for you.

It was also a great place to get away from it all, feel completely and truly in private with little to no risk of people or Fae walking in or overhearing, where if your confession of love to your teammate was rejected or went horribly wrong, you two could promise that what happened in the swamp _stayed_ in the swamp.

And besides, it felt appropriate, confessing where all of their paths had first crossed, when Jahilliyah made good on their promise to help her find her family, if in ways neither expected.

She didn't hesitate, walking up to his room as soon as she found a free moment in her schedule.

Jahilliyah had taught her the value of moving fast, especially because their primary commodity was information at an age where communications were literally at the speed of light, and most everyone had access at their fingertips.

And she stopped in front of his door, spending a minute reviewing how she was going to ask Shiro out, because Jahilliyah had _also_ taught her the value of spending a few seconds to think her actions through, to avoid the pratfalls and the repercussions of those that just clicked and confirmed like Old World gunslingers and their revolvers, even if it meant shooting themselves in the foot.

She was in the middle of debating whether or not to say “There’s something I need to tell you” or “There’s something I need to get off my chest” when the door opened.

“Ah, Pidge!” said Shiro’s voice. “Great timing: how do I look?”

Pidge’s eyes widened, not recognizing the Fae in front of her, before her training kicked in and she recognized all the components of a Fae disguise, and who was wearing it.

“Oh, hey, Shiro, what's up?” Pidge asked. “Another covert ops mission?”

Shiro shook his head. “Oh, no! Not at all! Just have plans of getting outside of Rune Terra one of these days without getting swarmed by civilians asking for autographs.”

Pidge nodded.

Though piggybacking on the nigh-ubiquitous surveillance and recording equipment in all the major city-states was useful for preventing Zarkon from pulling off any major terror attacks or schemes, and knowing exactly where they were if he pulled it off, it also made it pretty much _impossible_ to maintain secret identities of any sort.

“Can I come with?” she asked.

Shiro’s expression looked strikingly like the politicians, executives, and celebrities Pidge had blackmailed over the years with truly _incriminating_ material, which was never a good sign. The fake wolf ears pulling back in nervousness and the tail going between his legs didn't help.

“Ah...” he rubbed the back of his head with his organic arm, “actually, Pidge, I was planning on just going alone. You guys are great and I couldn’t have asked for a better team, but sometimes I need to remember what it’s like to be just Shiro, not ‘Shiro, Ruby Ranger of the Celestian Guard.’

“You know: 'me time.'”

Pidge blinked, before her face fell. “Oh. Okay.”

Shiro frowned. “Is something the matter, Pidge?”

Pidge sheepishly looked away. “Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go on a hike with me through Argus sometime, but since you’ve already got plans, and we don’t know when or where Zarkon is going to strike again...”

She felt Shiro’s arm on her shoulder. She looked up at his smiling face.

“Pidge, I promise you that after this, we are going on that hike the coast looks clear again,” he said.

Pidge slowly smiled back. “Thanks, Shiro.”

“You’re welcome, Pidge,” Shiro said, a light dusting of red now on his cheeks and his fake wolf tail waggling in delight.

He turned around and walked back into his room.

“Wait! Shiro!”

Shiro’s fake wolf features both perked up in alert. “Yes, Pidge?” he asked her over his shoulder.

“You should REALLY change your fake Fae stuff,” Pidge replied. “As is, your lack of sharp teeth, your eyes, and your relatively poor sense of smell is a potential give away if someone is really paying attention.

“I’d suggest you change it into a horse—your lack of prominent canines will stick out less, as will your sense of smell. The tail doesn’t move around as much so you don’t give away your nervousness, too.

“That outfit really needs to go, too. Even if it's not what you usually wear in public it just screams your usual style.

Shiro blinked. “Alright. Thank you, Pidge, I’ll do that,” he said, before he walked back into his room. He stopped, and turned around. “Actually, could you spare some time and help me change up my disguise? I'm not the mistress of disguise here after all...”

Pidge smiled. “I'd love to.”

They went into his room, teleporting in one of the fabricators from Pidge's room to make him new clothes on the spot. A little while spent making fashion choices for him, avoiding disguise stereotypes that most everyone could see through, and Pidge pointedly looking away and staring _very_ hard at a wall whenever Shiro was taking off his pants and/or shirt, and they had a disguise:

Partially unbuttoned flannel shirt, distressed jeans, sneakers, and a pair of Old World square-frame glasses, adding up to a very un-Shiro outfit.

“Wow, I do not recognize myself _at all,”_ Shiro said as he looked at himself in the mirror, putting the clunky glasses on and off. 

“Rule of thumb with disguises is to be something completely different than yourself—new look, new way of talking, new set of habits and knee-jerk reactions,” Pidge explained. “You'd be surprised at how many _amazing_ disguises have been ruined by people acting exactly the way they usually do.”

“I'll keep that in mind, Pidge, thank you,” Shiro said as he took off the glasses—there was something about his reflection that seemed _off_ to him _._

“So, is there anything else you needed my help with?” Pidge asked.

For a moment, Shiro's expression looking for a moment like Pidge's old friends in Jahilliyah, the ones torn between their wanting to help her and the consequences their superiors promised at the dreaded unauthorized information leaks.

“… No, nothing,” Shiro said. “You can go now if you'd like, Pidge.”

Pidge nodded. “Enjoy your ' m e time, ' Shiro!” she called out as she stepped out.

“I will!” Shiro replied, just before the door closed her.

Pidge stopped in the hallway, briefly wondering just what it is Shiro did for “me time” and why he would want or need a disguise to keep from being recognized on the street.

Then, she shook her head.

“What am I, his girlfriend?” she thought to herself. “I don’t need to know everything he does or where he is.”

She dismissed the thought, but it lingered in the back of her head, waiting, watching.

She sighed and supposed it was some sort of karma for using the same tactic for so many targets, planting the seeds of doubts and dangerous ideas in people who would have gone on just fine if she hadn't stepped into the picture.

Her schedule still free and uninterested in filling it with yet more tinkering, trancing, and training she headed further up to the largest and most heavily guarded of the residential areas:

Allura’s room.

For reasons of security, there were only two other people aside from her who could open its doors. The keys were supposed to be on a rotating schedule with all the other Rangers and Coran, but thanks to a _number_ of incidents, Pidge and Coran had them full-time.

“But wouldn’t it make more sense for you to give it to Shiro, since he’s the leader and all?” Pidge asked.

“If I have important business to discuss with Shiro, it can be easily done in the Core,” Allura replied as she permanently fused the key with Pidge’s rune. “My room is my sanctuary, and I’d rather not taint it with any of that dark business—the rest of Rune Terra already _reeks_ of terrible memories.

“Besides, now you can come visit me any time you want! Really, _any time_ at all~!”

Pidge made a note to clean her glasses afterward, because for a moment it had seemed like Allura was winking at her.

Back in the present, Pidge strode up to Allura’s door and pressed the intercom. “Princess Allura?”

There was a brief pause before Allura’s face came up on the screen—the static image of her used when she wasn’t “presentable” or could do without the holographic projection in front of her face.

“Oh, Pidge! Hello! Please, come in, come in!”

Pidge had a strange feeling in her gut, the one that tended to occur whenever something Seriously Bad was about to happen. She had no clue why it was happening or what was going to happen, but she did know there was only one way to find out.

She summoned her rune to her hand, and waved it in front of the door. The slabs glowed, and slid open, just a little larger than Pidge, and she stepped in.

Like the Core, there was a brief, blinding flash because of how much more radiant were the crystals it was built from, compared to the rest of the castle. Pidge shielded her eyes as the doors slid shut and locked behind her, blinking until her vision returned.

And what a sight awaited her.

Allura looked over her shoulder and smiled. “So, what brings you to my humble abode?” she asked as she finished hooking the bra she was putting on.

“I, uh—actually, I’m pretty sure it can wait...” Pidge said as she shut her eyes and her cheeks began to heat up.

She blindly waved her rune behind her at the doors, wondering why the locking mechanism wasn’t reacting as quickly and effortlessly as it usually did.

Allura sighed as she turned to her, half-naked. “You’ve spent _far_ too much time in the human settlements, Pidge—it's not _normal_ for Fae to be disturbed by something so natural as nakedness.”

“Well, yeah, but you know, it’s kinda important to know all these expected knee-jerk reactions and habits when you’ve spent the past couple of years living undercover with humans...” Pidge said, wondering if she could diagnose and fix what was wrong with the doors by feeling blindly for it.

Allura frowned as she stepped closer. “You’re not hiding anymore, Pidge—you’re living with us now. And frankly, I think it’s quite _disturbing_ how alien you seem to have become to your own species.”

“Okay! I can get the sentiment, and I agree with it, but could we reacclimate me to it a little bit at a time than throwing me right into the deep end?”

Allura bit back another sigh. “Will it help if I put a shirt on?”

“Yes, yes it will,” Pidge replied, eyes still shut.

There was a few moments of silence and clothes shuffling. “Okay! You can open your eyes now.”

Pidge did, and sighed in relief. She could still see Allura’s bare and rather shapely legs, but at least the bigger distractions had been covered up. “Thank you, Princess,” she said.

Allura smiled. “Please, just call me Allura; I want you to be comfortable here, none of the formalities.”

“Sorry,” Pidge replied. “Force of habit again.”

“Like your communicating entirely in Nivian despite the fact that we’re both Fae?” Allura asked. “Are even able to speak Actaeon anymore...?” she asked, frowning.

<Of course!> Pidge replied. <It’s actually a common tactic to encode classified documents in a mix of both Nivian and Actaeon, then encode it; even for bilingual folks like me who work with written and spoken codes and documents all the time, it can get _pretty_ hard to crack!>

<Then let’s talk in that!> Allura hummed, smiling. <It’s been _far_ too long that I’ve been able to have a conversation in our own tongue with someone aside from Coran. So, what brings you to my room, Pidge?> she chirped.

<Well, you know how Zarkon’s taken a break from threatening the realm as we know it, so we now we've got all this free time?>

Allura paused for a moment, before she smiled wider. <Yes?>

<I was wondering if you’d like to do something together while things are all quiet. You know, just the two of us.> She paused. <Like a date.>

Allura’s face looked like the counter-intelligence agents, rival gang members, and aspiring crime-busters Pidge had foiled with ultimatums, pitting them between their sense of moral uprightness and something or someone they held near and dear to them, and that was _never_ good.

Pidge’s face fell. <You already have plans?>

<Yes; I was actually in the middle of preparing for them before you knocked...> Allura replied.

<Oh, well, is there anything I can help with?> Pidge asked.

Allura beamed. <There is actually! I need a human disguise—a look that screams anyone _but_ ‘Allura, Rune Guardian of the Celestian Guard.’ Normally, I'd be an _expert_ at this, but I still have 1,000 years of cultural changes to catch up to...>

Pidge paused, then frowned.

Allura looked worried. <Is something the matter, Pidge?>

Pidge forced a smile. <Oh, nothing—come on, let’s make you a human disguise!>

With the help of a different fabricator warped in from Pidge’s room, they ended up making her a leather jacket, a sleeveless top randomly splattered with paint to wear underneath it, leather pants, and boots that had far more buckles on them than was strictly necessary.

Her bunny ears were easily pulled back and hidden within her hair, her lack of human ears was obscured with a beanie and carefully teased out locks, and her cottontail was easily hidden underneath her top.

<My word...> Allura said as she eyed her reflection, struck poses, and tried to look 'tough.' <This is… nothing like I imagined!>

<Do you like it?> Pidge asked.

<Yes, yes, it’s wonderful! If I myself couldn’t have thought of it, how much more someone trying to get into my mindset and figuring out what I’d use as a disguise?> she smiled warmly at Pidge. <It’s _perfect_ , Pidge.>

Pidge blushed. <You’re welcome, Prin-->

Allura began to frown.

<\--Allura.> Pidge finished.

Allura kept on smiling.

<What do you need this for, anyway?>

<Oh, I’m just planning a little stroll through the cities—preferably without causing pedestrian accidents and neck injuries from people gawking at me!> Allura replied.

<Do you want me to come with you?> Pidge asked. <In case someone does recognize you, I can help you throw them off your tail.>

Allura’s smile became tight and forced. <Oh, that’s much appreciated, Pidge, but I’m planning on doing this alone. You know, ‘Me Time’ as you would say in Nivian!>

Jahilliyah had taught Pidge that there were few true coincidences, especially in this day and age; everything is connected, every bit of information a piece to a larger puzzle, and all they needed to do was gather them all in one place, see where each fit, stand back and see the bigger picture.

And sometimes, you needed to seriously _underestimate_ the intelligence and cunning of humans and Fae, understand that yes, there are a lot of individuals and groups that are TERRIBLE at keeping secrets, unintentionally painting giant, blinking signs on their activities that read:

**TOP SECRET**

**KEEP OUT**

**WE MEAN IT >:(**

Pidge forced a smile and nodded. <I understand. Have fun, Allura,> she said as she turned around and left.

<Wait, Pidge!> Allura cried.

Pidge looked over her shoulder.

She bit her lip. <Do you… do you want to help me make more disguises? In case one of these days I have urgent need of one, and then I’d have it ready to go!>

<It’d probably just be easier for all of us to send me, Keith, or Shiro in; disguises are a lot more than appearances, Allura, there's also the location you're infiltrating and the reasons behind it,> Pidge replied as she waved her rune in front of the door.

This time, it reacted, sliding open for her, before dutifully shutting itself as she exited.

The very next day, both Allura and Shiro left Rune Terra at different times; they had done it so far apart that no one was really suspicious—not unless you knew that they had both needed disguises at the same time, had filled their schedules with something urgent that could not be moved, and had both claimed to need personal time.

“They’re probably on a date or something...” Pidge said, finding a comfortable spot in her room she wouldn’t mind being zonked out on for a few hours. “I guess it was only really a matter of time...” she said as she logged into the Trance.

She supposed she really should have made a move on either of them sooner, instead of spending so much time debating who to choose.


	3. "Business" over Brews

A woman in decked in leather with a beanie over her platinum blonde strode into the Howling Dude, turning heads everywhere she went, and even breaking those deep in intense philosophical arguments out of their well-constructed and _clearly_ logical arguments , if only for a moment.

Appreciative looks and whistles were given, some tried to make their moves; a stern, fiery look from her dissuaded all of them, and hopes were dashed as she went to the table of the massive horse Fae that had been brooding at the very back.

He had yet to order anything, but he had given the staff 300 Urochs outright.

“This is important,” he had said, and the employees knew well enough not to bother someone who backed that claim with cash.

“Taka,” Allura said as she pulled out a chair, spun it around on one leg, before she sat down with her arms resting atop the back.

“Allie,” Shiro replied, giving her a sulky look atop the rim of his glasses.

“Have you ordered yet?” she hummed.

“No, coffee’s on me, though,” he said as he put his hand on the menu on the table, slid it over to her. “Want to order first?”

“You know _damn_ well we’re not here to enjoy the coffee and the atmosphere,” Allura growled.

“Then please, your highness, let's proceed to business,” Shiro replied cool.

“You need to make your move, Taka, and _fast_ , or I’m swooping in and taking her from you,” Allura replied calmly.

Shiro’s eyes widened. “Wait, what? What are you saying?!”

Allura blushed. “That I've fallen in love with her, too, and since you've wasted all your chances, I'm going to start taking mine!”

Shiro sighed. “Since when did...?”

Allura looked away. “I can’t figure it out, either. But it’s somewhere when I was trying to fish some more details about her life out of her, because you couldn’t man up and do it yourself.”

A waitress walked up to them. “Excuse me, ma’am, sir, but are you two ready to order?”

“Coffee. Black. None of that sugar and cream crap,” Shiro said.

“Mocha Monstrosity, whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles,” Allura said. “Don’t think I won’t notice if doesn't have all seven colours.”

“Mocha Monster and an Existential Abyss, coming right up!” the waitress chirped, before she left.

Allura and Shiro looked at her out of the corners of their eyes until she was gone. Then, they looked at each other in disbelief.

“Are you _seriously_ going to drink that?” Allura whispered. “That's _my_ order, not yours!”

“If you don’t end up spitting out my usual on the first sip, I just might!” Shiro replied.

“What in the realm would compel you to do that? Oh, no, let me guess: the same reason you thought it’d be a good idea to wear that ridiculous get-up.”

“Like yours is so subtle,” Shiro growled.

“I’ll have you know that _she_ helped with this outfit! Who dressed you, huh?”

Shiro paused. “… She did too.”

“...”

“… We’re getting off topic...” Shiro muttered. “You’re not serious with those threats of yours, are you?”

“Well why wouldn’t I be? Even putting aside who you are as individuals, I can see nothing but trouble in your future if you attempted a relationship!”

Shiro narrowed his eyes. “Name one.”

“Your species, first and foremost. Have you ever looked at the success rates for human/Fae couples? If you haven’t, it’s _strikingly_ low, and even those that are successful are constantly fraught with conflict, both from within and without.

“Do you _really_ think, after everything she’s been through, she would want to invite that sort of chaos into her life…?”

Shiro began to open his mouth, his eyes burning in indignation. Then, he shut it and looked down, humbled.

“ _Exactly._ Which is why _I’m_ clearly the better choice,” Allura said, beaming.

Shiro scowled at her. “Now _hold up_ —just because you two happen to be the same species doesn’t automatically mean you’ve got the advantage over me!”

Allura laughed. “Oh, if only you understood the deep complexities of our species, the bond we share with each other and the rest of our kind—it’s something that you’d never be able understand, being what you are.”

Shiro gritted his teeth. “Okay. There’s a species barrier we'll have to deal with, and it’s _not_ going to be easy, I’ll accept that. But that doesn’t mean we can’t bond—we already do, with three others who couldn’t be more different from us at that!”

“Which is all well and good for friendship and fighting as one, but _romance_? There’s a good reason fraternization is discouraged within our ranks, you know.”

“But not _forbidden_ , because there’s a _chance_ it can work.” Shiro growled. “You think I’m going to be discouraged by all these obstacles? You forget I’ve faced worse and hurdled past them, if I didn’t shatter them into pieces!”

“Love is a very different battle-field, Taka,” Allura hummed. “I’m afraid all your training and experience won’t help you here.”

“Order up!” the waitress from earlier said as she came with a tray loaded with their drinks. “For the gentleman, an Existential Abyss, black as the night sky on a moonless, starless night!”

“Thanks,” Shiro said, staring into the abyss and worrying as it stared at him back.

“And for the lady, a Mocha Monstrosity with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles—all seven colours, I checked twice!”

“Thank, appreciate it...” Allura mumbled as she tried to drink the sugar-loaded concoction, wondering if it might suddenly come to life and attack her with a mouth made of rainbow sprinkles, hasten the process of putting rotten holes in her teeth that way.

The waitress put her tray to her chest. “Enjoy your date, you two~!”

“ _PFFTTT!”_

Shiro winced as he was sprayed with whipped cream, mocha, and rainbow sprinkles, thankful for his clunky glasses serving as excellent eye protection.

Allura coughed and gagged, setting her mug back on the table with a thud. _“Excuse me?”_ she spluttered. “I am NOT on a date with him!”

The waitress nervously put her tray in front of her like a shield. “I’m sorry! I just assumed--”

Allura glared at her. “Well you assumed wrong,” she growled. _“_ _Honestly,_ the very _idea_ of me being interested in _men?!”_

The waitress squeaked in terror.

“Easy, there, Ally,” Shiro said, reaching out and squeezing her arm with his prosthetic. “She just made a mistake, nothing to blow up over.”

Allura harrumphed and sulked.

“Sorry again,” the waitress whispered, before she wisely decided to beat a hasty retreat.

Shiro and Allura turned back to each other, and picked up their drinks.

“Now before we were interrupted… I’m well aware of that fact, Allie. But I didn’t get this far in life if I didn’t know how to learn quick on the job and improvise as needed.”

“But first, you’re going to have to actually start,” Allura huffed.

Shiro smiled. “If only you knew...”

Allura's widened, before she glared at Shiro. “What are you saying...?”

“That maybe you should reconsider your plan to swoop in—both our species consider it incredibly distasteful to steal someone else's lover, after all.”

Allura's face fell in horror. “You're lying!” she paused. “This is a _bluff_ , isn't it?!”

Shiro smirked. “I suggest you wait and see.”

Allura growled, Shiro smirked, they both grabbed picked up their orders and drank.

Shiro balked and gagged from the soul-killing bitterness, Allura discretely spat her newest mouthful back into her drink, before they set their mugs down.

“How do you even _drink_ this…?” they both asked each other.

After a few more attempts to maintain their cover, they just got their drinks to go, left the cafe, then teleported back to Rune Terra where they could safely dump them without remorse.

* * *

Pidge was in the middle of ancient, magical ruins, facing down a seemingly endless supply of disposable mooks streaming out from the excavation in the center of it all. Her squad hid in cover, clutching their weapons tightly, carefully peering out the sides as they awaited orders.

She was in the middle of reviewing the hit chances of a farslinger shot from her Sharpshooter or just risking sending her Hunter out for a melee attack; the former could potentially miss and have to spend a turn reloading, while the latter would _definitely_ kill the target, but then they’d be out in the open and their skill set would only nullify one attack, not three.

She considering a third option, flushing out one of the entrenched enemy snipers and taking them out instead, when her game was suddenly paused.

A holo-projection with Alura’s face appeared before her. “Pidge, could we speak for a moment? Face-to-face, preferably.”

“Oh, sure, just let me DC, and give me a moment to stretch,” Pidge said, summoning a menu in front of her face. “Don’t know how long I’ve been here...”

She came out of the Trance still sitting on her cushion, which was good. Her legs had fallen asleep and as usual, she had a hell of a time trying to get back up, and plenty of misery getting to the door, which was not good.

She sighed as she leaned on the side of her door, punched in the code to open it; if nothing else, she missed Jahilliyah’s dedication to care for their trancing agents, making sure they were ready to do anything IRL as soon as they DC'd.

The door opened, Pidge gestured for Allura to come in. “Sorry about the mess! I haven’t really cleaned up since… well, I don’t really clean-up in general.”

Allura looked at the giant mess of magitechnology and spare parts strewn all over Pidge's room, some of them partially deconstructed, others stored and awaiting further study, or “Pidgeonsteined” into creations she couldn't even _fathom_ the uses of.

She looked back at Pidge and smiled. “It's fine! Maybe I could get Coran and the mice one of these days, and we can all clean this place up?”

“Please don't,” Pidge replied. “I _prefer_ the mess actually—never know when or where inspiration might hit while I'm stuck on something.”

“Then could you at least mind cleaning up a bit for me to enter?” Allura asked, gesturing at the labyrinth of contraptions on the floor, just big enough for a vertically challenge person like Pidge to maneuver through.

“Oh. Sorry.”

Pidge cleared a path, enough for Allura to reach her nest of pillows and cushions just to the side of the door.

“Thank you,” Allura said as she sat down there. She looked back at the piles of things Pidge had pushed aside and stacked on top of each other, how little free space that had made in the room. “Doesn't this all feel… claustrophobic? This feels more like a storage room than a bedroom.”

“It kinda is,” Pidge said as she settled down some distance away from her. “If I want space, there's always the Trance, and of course the Galra attack once or twice a week and force me out of my room. Not that I mind. The getting out of my room part, not the Galra attacking. That always sucks.”

Allura nodded. “Indeed…” she looked to the side. “… And speaking of getting out of your room…” she looked back at Pidge, smiling and blushing just a little. “Would you like to take a stroll through through Via Eluna—say, tomorrow?”

“Can't, sorry,” Pidge replied. “I already asked Shiro to go hiking with me through Argus.”

Allura's eyes widened in alarm, her ears pulling back in fear. “Like on a _date?!”_

Pidge shook her head, her own ears flattening on her head. “No, _no, not at all!_ Like a 'friends hanging out sometime' kind of thing, _not_ a date at all!”

Allura sighed in relief, her ears springing back up to their full height. “Oh, good...”

“Geeze, Allura, I'm not trying to make a move on Shiro, especially since I know you two are dating now!” Pidge cried.

Allura blinked. “What.”

Pidge looked sheepishly at her. “Yeah, I'm sorry; I know that you and Shiro were trying to keep this all a secret, but I just couldn't help connecting the dots.”

“Dots?” Allura sputtered, her ears pulling back once more. _“What_ dots?!”

Pidge held out her hand and started counting fingers. “Well, you two suddenly having your schedules filled in the immediate future, the two of you needing disguises to go around town, the two of you teleporting into Solaris at separate times so most of us wouldn’t suspect a thing, the both of you claiming you needed 'me' time...

“I may still be a kid by a lot of standards, by I worked for Jahilliyah—finding the link between seemingly unrelated events to see the bigger picture is one of the things I spent all my time doing, aside from developing new tech, and blackmailing people.”

Allura stared blankly at her, unsure of how to react.

“It's fine, Allura,” Pidge said, forcing a smile. “I won't tell the others until you give me the go signal, or you decide to come out to all of us. And if you need me to help you two with your secret dates, just call me—it's a lot easier to make disguises when you know what both agents are going to be wearing, make it so people assume they're not even _remotely_ together.

“Matching fashion styles or outfits is one of the biggest giveaways for group disguises, but I guess it wasn't _that_ bad since you guys were doing couple stuff...”

Allura blinked and shook her head. “No, Pidge, you've got it all wrong: I and Shiro are NOT a couple, and we were NOT going out on a date.”

Pidge mulled that over for a moment. “So what _were_ you two doing…?”

Allura began to sweat. _“Business!_ We were talking about _business,_ that's what we were talking about. _Business!_ ”

Pidge nodded slowly. “I thought you said you could just go to the Core for that...”

“Well this was very _boring_ business, _so_ uninteresting we needed an incentive to actually discuss it!” Allura added frantically. She reached out and grabbed Pidge's hands, holding them up between them. “Look, Pidge—we're friends, right?” she said, smiling and looking Pidge in her eyes, bullets of sweat pouring down her face.

Pidge's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “O-Of course!”

“Then _please_ , _believe me_ when I say that me and Shiro are most _definitely_ **not** going out, and that we only went out for coffee to discuss _excruciatingly_ boring business.”

“… Okay,” Pidge replied. “I believe you.”

Allura let out a sigh of relief, smiled warmly at her. _“_ _Thank you,_ Pidge.”

Pidge nodded.

_Beat._

“… You can let go of my hands now.”

Allura blushed and pulled them back like Pidge's were on fire. “I'm so glad we had this talk, Pidge,” she stammered as she quickly got up off her nest.

“You're welcome, Allura.”

“I'll just be going now, then!” she said, waving as she began to leave.

“Wait, Allura!” Pidge called out.

Allura looked over her shoulder.

“After me and Shiro go on that hike, and the next time it looks like Zarkon is taking a while between his next evil plot, we can go on that walk through Via Solaris you wanted.” Pidge smiled. “It'll be nice to go back to my home state, without the Galra terrorizing it first...”

Allura grinned. “I would love that, Pidge.”

She hummed to herself as she walked down the hall and back to the Core, to perform some actual business of saving the world. “It's just one hike through Argus!” she thought to herself. “ _O_ _ne_ date—what sort of progress could he _possibly_ do in just _one date?”_

Apparently, gift her a _rock_ that Pidge now had in a little dolled up box by her Info-Grid terminal, complete with a name: “Rollie.”

“It's a pun,” Pidge had explained to her and the others. “You know: 'A rolling stone gathers no moss'?”

Allura sighed as her tea finished brewing, and she brought up to her lips for a sip. She perched herself on the counter, wondering just _what_ exactly she could do to top a hike through Argus, that had something so wonderful happen during it that would make Pidge that enamored over a _rock_.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Rune Terra's alarm blaring.

A holo with Coran's face automatically popped up into Allura's face, as with the others.

“Attention all Rune Rangers: Report to the Core _immediately!_ Valentino is under attack!”


	4. The Siren's Song (Part 1)

It was pandemonium in one of Valentino's biggest beachfront districts, Zarkon's troops swarming all around the storefronts and the hotels, civilians, tourists, and military types alike escaping through the streets, or out to sea.

The Armed Forces of Avalon set up barricades and helped evacuate the area, but against the _vastly_ better armed Galra Empire, they could only wait, pray for help to arrive, and hope no one was still trapped inside.

Atop one of the tallest roofs, Haggar's latest Robeast loomed, a bizarre, humanoid creature that looked like a mix of a fish and a human woman, too alien and inelegantly-designed to be Fae.

“That's right, everyone! Run! _R_ _un_ from my super scary troops!” she cried. “This city is under _Galra_ control now and _I,_ Mero, am going to be the one ruling it, _okay?!”_

Through the psychic link to Galra's headquarters, Zarkon noisily cleared his throat.

Mero groaned. “Okay, _alright, fine!_ Emperor Zarkon is going to be ruling it, but I'm like, gonna be the _branch manager_ or something! So bow down and respect me, _peons_!”

“Sorry, your highness, but looks like your reign's going to end before it even starts!” Lance cried.

Mero scowled as she noticed six familiar figures standing in the deserted boardwalk. “Ugh!” she cried. “Can't you guys just NOT show up and totally ruin Emperor Zarkon's plans for once?!”

Keith laughed. “Yeah… that's not happening.”

As one, they thrust their hands through the air and raised their runes to the sky, the carved gems glimmering in the afternoon sun.

“ _ **Strength of the Suns!” / “Light of the Moons!”**_

The Rune Rangers' and Allura's bodies glowed with their respective colours, so radiant they blinded and warded off the Galra footsoldiers around them until they exploded in a brilliant shower of light. Now in their armour, they got into their respective poses and cried:

“ _ **Defenders of Avalon! Rune Rangers, Celestial Guard!”**_

_Boom._

Multicoloured pillars of smoke erupted from behind them.

Mero groaned. “Are you done?! Have you done your whole bit now, complete with your _stupid_ catchphrases?!”

Their runes transformed into their weapons, and they held them at the ready. In Shiro's case, he socketed it into his prosthetic arm, the magic holding it together now glowing a brilliant crimson and purple.

“Yes,” Shiro replied.

Mero harrumphed. “Good! Minions: ATTACK! _And don't_ _suck so much_ _this time!”_

The Galra attacked, a horde of swordsmen, riflemen, and hulking brutes with shields and maces.

Shiro held thrust out his prosthetic arm. “Keith, Allura, Pidge, with me: _we're cutting a path to the Robeast!”_

“My name is _Mero_ , you _doucheschnozzles_ _!”_

Shiro ignored her. “Lance, Hunk: fire support! _Focus on the shooters!_

“Celestial Guard: **CHARGE!”**

The Rune Rangers and the Galra Forces clashed, the air ringing with the sounds of gunfire and violence as the robotic minions were slashed to pieces, crushed to bits, or left staring at the new holes in their bodies before they collapsed, inactive.

“This is _way_ too easy!” Keith cried as he blocked a Galra trooper's mace with his shield. “You guys having an off-day?!” he cried as he retaliated with an upwards slash across its chest.

Shiro thrust his prosthetic arm into the trooper's chest before the metal could mend itself. _“Don't tempt fate_! It **never** ends well!” he cried as he ripped out its power core, then threw it at the minions further up.

_Boom._

Mero shielded her eyes with a webbed fin-hand as a good chunk of her forces were wiped out or severely damaged. “Too late, Rune Jerkbags!” she cried as she lowered her arm. “ _Behold_ : my _**super awesome**_ **secret weapon!”** she proudly raised her head and breathe in deep.

Pidge shocked a swordsman with her katar, Allura smashed its head in with her staff while it was defenseless. The two of them plus Shiro turned to Keith, opened the visors of their helmets, and glared at him.

Keith raised his hand and sword in apology. “Sorry.”

Mero let out a powerful, ear-piercing screech, waves of magic erupting from her body and spreading all around the beach. The Rune Rangers all fell to their knees and clutched their heads, her “song” ringing in their heads, getting even more agonizing and out-of tune as it went on.

Not even her own troops were immune, all of them spitting out error messages and jerking around as their auditory sensors were overloaded.

Then, it stopped, and faded away into nothing.

The Rune Rangers groaned and shook their heads; they looked around, saw the Galra troopers still stunned and recovering.

“Hah!” Lance said as he held up his rifle. “Is that your ' _super awesome_ secret weapon'? A stun wave _that affects your own_ _guys_ _? Lame!”_

“ _Hmph!”_ _Mero crossed her arms._ “Look again, doucheschnozzle, because I turned one of _you_ to _my_ side!”

The Rangers frantically looked around, until they saw Pidge still on her knees.

Lance sighed in relief, and lowered his gun. “Oh, great! It's just Pidge—I was worried for a moment there!”

Pidge got up, turned around, and shot her grappling hook onto Lance's chest.

By the time he realized what had happened, she was already zipping towards him.

Pidge crashed into Lance's chest feet first, knocking him flat on his back. He tried to grab her and throw her off, she was already plunging her katar into him.

Lance _screamed_ as hundreds of volts of electricity were pumped into his body.

“ _HUNK!”_ Shiro cried as he, Keith, and Allura fended off the fully-recovered Galra. _“GET HER OFF!”_

Hunk yelped and aimed his cannon at Pidge.

She snapped her face to him, opened her visor and showed him her amber eyes, now glowing an ominous shade of purple.

“ **HUNK!”**

Hunk whimpered, then clumsily swung his cannon at Pidge.

She jumped up, easily dodging his attack; she launched off him, and back into the fray with the others.

Hunk staggered back in surprise. He watched her somersaulting and scampering between the Galra's legs and the space in between them, the troopers ignoring her completely as she crept up behind Allura, Shiro, and Keith.

“GUYS! BEHIND YOU!” he cried as he aimed his cannon at the Galra.

Keith slashed a trooper in front of him, destroying it. He turned around, just in time to see Pidge crouching in front of him, before she sprang up and slashed a line up his chest.

“ _AGH!”_

Pidge somersaulted through the air and behind them, Allura and Shiro stared in horror as the Galra quickly swarmed in front of her to protect her.

“ **Retreat!”** Shiro cried as he and Allura carried Keith between them as they ran back.

Hunk covered their escape, Lance lay on the ground, unmoving.

Up on the roof, Mero stared. “Oh, _wow…_ this is like, going _way_ better than I expected it to...”

“ _Indeed...”_ Haggar hummed through the psychic link. _“To turn the Emerald Ranger_ _against her comrades_ _was a move even_ I _did not think of! Perhaps I should base all my future Robeasts o_ _ff_ _you, to_ _ensure_ _power_ and _cunning_ _...”_

Mero looked nervous. “Okay, so like... before you go poking into my brain, and stuff, I just choose the green one like, at random? I didn't know this was all going to happen, you know…?”

Haggar sighed heavily. _“Of course...”_

“Shiro!” Hunk cried as they stood around Lance. _“What do we do?”_

Shiro gritted his teeth. “Let me think...”

“Minions!” Pidge cried as she raised her arm. “Attack the blue one! Finish him off, then get the rest! I don't care how many of you fall, _just do it!”_

The Galra Troopers all looked at each other in confusion, before they shrugged, and attacked.

“ _Hey!”_ Mero cried. “I'm the one in charge here!”

Pidge opened her visor to glare at her. “Oh, _I'm sorry:_ do you want to actually _win_ this fight or no?!”

Mero reeled. “… Gosh, no need to be a bitch about it!” she turned to the Galra. “Minions! Do what she says, I guess...!”

The rangers stared at the incoming swarm in horror, before they raised their weapons.

Hunk began to take potshots at the swarming Galra. “Shiro...?! What do we do?!”

“Keith: get Lance somewhere safe! Hunk: fend off those Galra! Allura, with me: we're taking out Mero and getting Pidge back!

“GO!”

Keith threw Lance over his shoulder and ran into the nearby streets, Allura and Shiro charged straight into the horde.

Some of the Galra slowed down, preparing to engage them.

“ _Keep going!”_ Pidge cried. “Ignore them: get the Blue one! We may lose this battle, but watch them crumble when one of them _dies!”_

“ _Sweet Shepherd_ , Pidge!” Keith cried as he laid Lance against the side of a building. “Who's side are you on?!”

“ _Not yours!”_ she shouted back through their helmets.

Lance groaned in pain.

Keith's eyes widened as he knelt down beside him, grabbed him by the shoulders. "Lance? Lance!" he cried as he shook him. "Don't die on me now _,_ man, we're going to make it through this like we always do!"

Lance coughed. "Pidge... get Pidge...! I need Pidge!"

"Uh, newsflash for ya: _she's still brainwashed and crazy!_ She's the one that stabbed you, for fuck's sake!"

"I know. I want her to stab me again."

Keith groaned and dropped Lance.

“ _O_ _w_ _!_ Come on, man, I'm _dying_ over here!”

“Well bleed out with your head down!” Keith said as he turned around and readied his sword—the swarms of Galra had gotten too close for Hunk's comfort, and he was now running as fast as he could to them.

Meanwhile, Shiro and Allura raised their suits' grappling hooks to the rooftop Mero was standing on. They were about to fire, when an EMP exploded and shorted out their gear. They turned their heads to Pidge, standing nearby with her finger still on the “gadget-panel” of her gauntlet.

They couldn't see her smug smirk for the designs of their helmets, but they could just _tell._

They readied their weapons.

“Stand down, Pidge!” Shiro called out. “We don't want to hurt you!”

Pidge laughed. “Oh, _I know_ —which is why you're all going to lose,” she growled as she crouched low, her dagger held at the ready.

Allura stepped forward. “I'll handle her—your reflexes may be good for a human, but you're no match for a Fae, however skilled.”

Shiro nodded, and looked up at Mero. “Guess I'm going up the old-fashioned way…!” he cried as he charged into the nearest building, breaking through the doors and running towards the nearest set of stairs.

Pidge turned around and tried to fire her grappling hook at his leg, before her ears twitched. She ducked just as Allura's staff came swinging past her head. She retaliated with a dagger thrust, one Allura just barely dodged herself.

“Snap out of it, Pidge!” Allura cried as they began to fight, dodging and dancing around each other, their attacks just barely missing one another. “I _really_ don't want to hurt you!”

Pidge jumped back, somersaulting through the air and landing on all fours. “Good, because that _works out great for me_ _!”_ she yelled as she pounced.

From above, Mero watched as Allura barely blocked Pidge with her staff, former staggering back as she tried to stab and slash her with her dagger. “Uh… like, do you need any help or something...?”

“I'VE GOT THIS!” Pidge yelled.

“Are you sure?” Mero asked. “It kinda looks like you're losing down there, and those guys at the back are having a really hard time!”

“JUST _SHUT UP,_ AND LET ME DO MY THING!”

Mero gasped, before she scowled. _“Rude!_ Who does that little twerp think she is?”

“ _Someone_ vastly _more effective than you have been so far...”_ Haggar hummed.

Mero gasped in offense. _“Excuse me?_ Whose side are you on?!”

“ _Whoever is the strongest and most cunning...”_ Haggar replied, watching the duel between Pidge and Allura with interest.

Inside the building, Shiro pounded up the stairs, taking them two steps at a time before he burst through a door leading out to the roof. He looked around, cried in frustration as he realized he had ended up behind and several stories below Mero.

Then, his suit's gadgets hummed back to life. He grinned as he fired his grappling hook to just below the roof Mero was on and began to rocket up towards her.

In the back-lines, the other rangers were backed into a corner, Keith desperately holding his shield up to block a constant rain of blows and bullets, while Lance and Hunk blindly fired into the swarm—wherever they pointed, they were going to hit a Galra.

“Guys, we've got Pidge back, _right?!”_ Keith cried. _“'Cause we're not going to last much longer_ _back_ _here!”_

“I'm afraid”--Allura ducked--”that she's going to have to”--she somersaulted backwards, avoiding a furious series of slashes from Pidge _\--”sit this one out!”_

She swung for Pidge's head, one end of her staff connecting with her helmet.

_Crack!_

Pidge flew off, flying off to the side and into a bench. The wood broke apart on impact, Pidge lay in the wreckage, groaning in pain.

Allura stared in horror. “PIDGE!” she cried as she rushed over to her. “Oh _Eluna,_ are you alright?!”

Pidge groaned and slowly raised her head. _“Ugh_ …! What _happened_ …?” she muttered.

“You were under the spell of that horrid wench Mero,” Allura replied as she grabbed her hand and pulled her up. “Thankfully, I seem to have knocked you out of it!”

Pidge's visor opened, revealing glimmering purple eyes. “Actually: _you_ _didn't.”_

Faster than Allura could react, she thrust her dagger into her chest.

At the same time, Shiro tackled Mero from behind, wrapping his arms around her as they flew off the roof and headed straight for the ground.

Allura collapsed, twitching as stray sparks fell from Pidge's dagger.

She chuckled as she stepped around her. “Too easy...” she hummed as she looked at the concentration of Galra in the distance.

Her ears twitched as she heard something _very_ large falling through the air, _very f_ ast.

Pidge looked up, her eyes widening as she just barely avoided getting crushed by Mero and Shiro.

_Thud._

Mero's impact broke the pavement and the mind control.

Pidge blinked, her eyes growing wide in horror as everything that had just happened came flashing through her mind. She looked at Shiro, pushing himself up from Mero, at Allura, writhing on the floor, then back at the swarms of Galra overwhelming the others.

She rushed back to Allura, picked her up and held her dagger to her neck. “MINIONS! RANGERS! EVERYONE! STOP!”

Keith's shield broke, bullets and strikes struck him unimpeded. He was about to slash with his sword for his final stand, when Pidge's face with her now-normal eyes showed up inside all the rangers' helmets, invisible to the enemy.

Confused, the Galra Troopers stopped attacking, though they didn't let their guard down, still aiming their guns at the others and holding their melee weapons at the ready.

“I suggest you rangers surrender **now,”** Pidge growled. “I'm sure we can _all_ see that you've lost this battle, and all that you can really change is how quick and painless you want your deaths to be.”

Mero threw Shiro off of her, and brushed off stray bits of cracked concrete off her body. “Alright, go Green Girl!”

“ _Shut up! Gah,_ I can feel my brain cells _dying_ every time you open your mouth!”

Mero scowled and crossed her arms. _“Hmph!”_

“Minions: bring the other rangers back to me. I want them all to see each other one last time, before I _end_ them.”

“Do it...” Allura muttered, feigning hopelessness.

“And make it quick, minions!” Mero added. “We've got a LOT of things to do when I take over this city!”

Haggar frowned. _“Something's up.”_

“No worries, Boss, I got this!” Mero said.

Haggar was about to speak up, before Zarkon stopped her. “Let her be...” he hummed.

The Galra minions marched Keith and Hunk back to Pidge at gunpoint, while Lance was unceremoniously thrown over the shoulder of one of the giants.

“ _Agh!_ _Hey!_ I'm _pretty_ sure I've got cracked ribs or something here, be more gentle, will you?!”

The Galra ignored him.

Soon, the Rangers were all pilled up by Pidge's feet, their heads hung in defeat and their weapons laying abandoned on the ground.

“So like, this is it, right?” Mero asked. “We win and I get to _totally_ take over this city?”

“Oh, Valentino's going to be part of the Galra Empire alright—just not with _you_ ruling over it,” Pidge replied calmly.

Mero grinned, before she realized just what she had said. “Wait, what…?” she asked, her face falling. “You're on _my_ side, aren't you? I mean hello, we're all Galra here!”

“Not anymore you're not...” Pidge muttered as she raised her hand. “Minions! Prepare to get rid of this sorry excuse for a Robeast!”

Mero looked at her in disbelief, before she stared in horror at the Galra troops aiming their guns at her, coming in closer with their weapons at the ready. “Boss? Lady Haggar?! Emperor Zarkon! You're not going to let her do this, are you?!”

Haggar huffed. _“_ _You've 'got this,' don't you…?”_

Mero's eyes widened as the Galra formed a circle around her.

Pidge stepped back closer to the others. “Before you all fire and destroy Mero over there, I'd just like to say:

“Thanks for falling into my trap!”

Pidge blasted out a wave of healing energy, bringing all the rangers back up to their feet.

The Galra and Mero couldn't see her smug grin, but they could just _tell._


	5. The Siren's Song (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back now that my other project is done! Sorry for the delay.

“Hunk and Keith: hold the Galra off!” Shiro cried as his arm glowed with renewed power. “Everyone else: get the Robeast!”

The Rangers grabbed their weapons and charged. A front-most line of Galra troopers were already being attacked by the time they realized what had happened. Mero looked at the four warriors charging at her, turned tail and ran into the same building Shiro had gone up earlier.

“After her!” Shiro cried as they all charged in after her.

“Minions! Keep them away from me!” Mero cried as she ran up the stairs.

The Galra troopers swarmed in, weapons raised as they poured into the open doorway as one.

Keith and Hunk turned around and braced themselves, prepared to blast and fight off the stream of troopers. They stopped as they realized the Galra were stuck, limbs and heads awkwardly flailing as they tried and failed to get out of the interlocked mass of bodies.

The two of them smiled and laughed as they thundered up the stairs after their team, just as the Galra outside started breaking open the windows and entering through there.

“You can’t run from your fate!” Allura cried as the Rangers steadily gained on her, just a half-flight of stairs behind.

“Just watch me!” Mero snapped in between huffs for breath.

Hunk and Keith slashed and blasted the steps behind them, trapping the Galra at the ground floor. A barrage of suppressing fire from Hunk forced them out of the space, and scrambling to find another way to get up.

Mero burst onto the roof of the building, flailing and out of breath. The Rangers staggered in shortly after, Shiro with Lance’s arm over his shoulders; Allura with Pidge riding on her back next; then Hunk and Keith, slumped over or crawling in on all fours.

Mero bent over with her hands on her knees. “Huff… you… huff… won’t… _beat me_ … huff… Rune… Rangers… huff!”

Lance fell off from Shiro’s shoulders, pushed himself up from the floor on his elbows. “Yes… huff… we… huff… _will_ … huff!”

“Can we like… huff… take five or something…?” Mero asked. “That was a _lot_ of stairs...”

“Can’t believe I’m… huff… saying this… huff… but sure...” Shiro replied.

The Rangers all sat together in the shade with their weapons at the ready, Mero fanned herself with a fin-hand as she found shelter some distance away from them. The Galra troopers scaled the sides of the building or tossed themselves up from the roofs of lower buildings, but the exertion and the rough landings had taken a toll on them, too, and they had to lay under the sun to recharge.

Zarkon silently cursed the limitations of even his empire’s highly advanced technology.

Eventually, they ready to stand up and fight once more. The Rune Rangers stood together in a line while Mero and her minions spread out around the rooftop.

“Okay!” she cried. “Now that we’re back to fighting again, let me treat you all to another song number!”

She reared her head back, and took in a deep breath.

Shiro picked Pidge up, and sent her rocketing into Mero.

Pidge landed on her chest, held on tight and braced her feet as she plunged her dagger right into Mero’s throat.

Mero screeched and jerked about, sparks flying from her body and a weak, scattered blast of magic pouring out of her mouth. “Y-Y-Y-YOU-U-UU-U G-G-G-G-GUYS SSS-S-S-SUU-UUU-CKKK!” she cried.

Shiro threw his arm up in the air. “Hunk, Allura, keep the minions away! The rest of us: get the Robeast!

“Celestial Guard: **CHARGE** **!”**

Mero grabbed Pidge and threw her away, she flipped around mid-air and landed on all fours. She dodged an overhead smash from a titan, before she scampered back to the others; it tried to chase after her, before Hunk blasted in the face and sent it staggering back, while Allura kept the rest of the troopers from doing the same.

Mero scowled as she saw the Rangers charging towards or aiming at her. “Singing isn’t my only talent, you know!” she cried as she swiped one of her fins in the air, a wave of magic surging towards the Rangers.

Keith grinned as he raised his shield and braced himself, absorbing the worst of it. Pidge climbed up his back and launched off his shoulders, landing in front of Mero. She lunged and tried to grab her again, Pidge escaped through the space between her legs.

Mero looked up, a burst from Lance’s rifle struck her right between the eyes, the bolts’ residue stil glowing as Shiro drove his glowing palm into her face.

_Pow._

Mero cried out, blasted a wave of water around her that knocked the others back. “Minions: protect me!” she said as she ran away towards the bulk of her forces.

“Oh no you don’t!” Lance cried as he flipped a switch on his rifle. He shot an ice bolt into Mero’s leg.

“ _Gah!”_ she cried as she stumbled and hobbled to a stop, frost forming over her skin-scales. “This isn’t _fair,_ you jerks!”

“Says the Robeast fighting _six_ of us with a _friggin’ army_!” Keith cried as he and Pidge slashed her together.

All but stuck in one place, Mero could do little but swipe and throw more waves of magic around as the Rangers took turns attacking her two or three at a time from every direction, Hunk and Allura quickly joining in as her vitals dropped ever lower.

Finally, the Rangers all surrounded her, their bodies glowing with power, and their runes held tightly in their hands. As they posed and their magic shot out and spiraled into the air, they cried:

“ _ **Solar Strike!”**_

The surviving Galra forces staggered back and shielded their eyes as bright, multi-coloured pillars of came down crashing down atop Mero. And when the light faded, all that was left behind was a melted and broken mess of smoking black matter, ominous purple goop leaking out and shriveling up in the sunlight.

Their Robeast down, the Galra troops ran for it. Haggar sighed as she stepped into the area through a rip in reality. “I _sincerely_ hope that what you lack in intelligence and control over _your own_ troops, you make up for as an instrument of brute force,” she said as she raised her hands in the air, purple magic arced from her fingers and coursed into Mero’s remains.

“ _Blackened steel and wicked soul, I command thee: mend and rise **anew!”**_

The metal and goo shot up into the air like a meteor, power crackling and bursting all around it. The Rune Rangers looked up to the sky as a skyscraper-sized Mero reformed in front of them, crushing the building next door under her giant feet-fins.

“ _Oh yeah!”_ she cried. “Prepare to get stomped _flat_ , Rune Jerkbags!”

Keith cringed and turned away from the sight. “Yeesh… and I thought she looked ugly regular sized...”

“We won’t have see for much longer, don’t worry,” Shiro said.

“Anyone I need to substitute for?” Allura asked as they all got into formation once more.

“Nah,” Pidge said. “I think we can do just fine with the regular load-out.”

Shiro nodded. “The usual it is.”

They all thrust their runes into the air, the stones growing bright.

“ _Awaken:_ **Celestial Sentinel!”**

From deep within their dens in Rune Terra, giant creatures of rock, metal, and crystal awakened, the carvings all over their bodies lighting up with power, their eyes shining. They rocketed off to the surface, shooting through the sky like meteors till they stopped above the Rangers, and started transforming and joining together to form a giant, humanoid robot.

The Rune Rangers teleported from the ground, and into the cockpit in the head. Holographic screens and displays lit up all around them and on top of the control panel, the largest among them the view from the Sentinel’s eyes, Mero in the middle of their sights.

The Sentinel raised its fists in front of it, its eyes gleaming.

Mero scoffed. _“Hah!_ You think your stupid sentinel’s going to save the day this time? Well, let’s just see _how well_ _it does against_ _\--”_

_Pow!_

The Sentinel socked Mero in the face. She staggered back as the blows kept on coming one after the other, buildings crumbling to pieces as her legs went through them, the streets, canals, and ruins dotted with her giant footprints. The Sentinel’s arms ever brighter, the kinetic energy from each blow surging into its power core.

The assault and Mero stopped at the end of a decimated block of buildings. She swayed for a moment, clutching her head with one hand-fin, peering through the gaps in the webbing and watching as the Sentinel summoned a giant cannon atop its shoulder, and aimed it right at her.

_Thoom._

Bystanders and AFA soldiers at the barricades shielded their eyes from the radiance of the laser, before they started cheering. Elsewhere, the owners and proprietors of the buildings and the businesses that had been demolished started calling their insurance companies, while the Valentino department of public works started calling Coran and scheduling reconstruction efforts.

Mero fell back from the blast, making a giant splash as she landed in an open canal.

The Sentinel waved away the excess smoke from the barrel, before the weapon dissipated back into magic and into it.

Mero scowled as she got back up on her feet, her front glowing with white-gold magic burns. “You didn’t let me finish, doucheshnozzles!” she snapped.

“We were saving what’s left of our brain cells from your voice!” Pidge cried as the Sentinel ran and closed the distance.

Mero scowled and growled. “Well get ready to lose _a whole lot more!”_ she cried as she reared her head back and took a deep breath.

The Rangers eyes widened.

“Oh crap—Hunk, run faster!” Lance cried.

“This is top speed already!” Hunk shouted back. “This leg is made for _stability_ , not speed!”

“Brace yourselves, then!” Allura cried.

The Sentinel slid to a stop, planting both feet firmly in the ground as it raised its arms up in front of it.

Mero opened her mouth, and sang.

A giant wave of magic erupted from her mouth, exploding across the sky, the whole district shaking as glass exploded and concrete structures cracked and crumbled. It hit the Sentinel, and it began to jerk and thrash about, purple energy crackling and sparking all over its body. Inside the cockpit, the lights and holos flickered or shut-off as a horrible din echoed inside the walls.

“ _Systems unresponsive!”_ Pidge cried as she read the few surviving readouts.

“Hunk, what the _hell_ is happening?” Shiro yelled as he and the others held on tight to the control panel.

“Her singing’s messing with the Sentinel’s resonators—it’s so off-key it’s knocked _everything_ out of whack!”

“Can you two fix it?”

“Not without climbing into the works and manually realigning every last crystal!” Hunk replied. “We’ll have to wait for the sound to fade and for them to recover on their own!”

They all peered through the static and the distortion of the optics feed, watched flashes and bits of Mero running towards them with an evil grin on her scaly lips, magic gathering in her fin-hands.

Keith frowned. “Well, _crap.”_

_Crash!_

The Rangers jerked and flew about as Mero wailed on the Sentinel, helpless to do anything but take every last wave of magic full-force. She stepped in front of it, put her face right up to theirs, and sang.

“ _LAAAAAAAAA…!_

The Sentinel flew back from the cone of sound, taking out another block of buildings and docks as it landed.

“Hah!” Mero cried as she put her fin-hands on her hips. _“That’s_ what you get for not letting me finish my sentences, _doucheschnozzles!”_

The Rangers picked themselves up from the back of the cockpit as the lights and holos rebooted.

Shiro reached up and grabbed the control panel with his prosthetic arm, pulled Pidge back up to the console with the other. “How are we looking?” he asked.

Pidge frowned as she looked at all the readouts, the graphic display of the Sentinel’s parts blinking bright red. “Not good, but on the bright side, getting the crap beat out of us knocked everything back into place. Should I activate the repair systems?”

“No,” Shiro replied. “Save it for stopping Mero from singing again—if she stuns us like that again, we’ll be good as dead anyway.”

“So what’s the plan?” Keith asked.

Shiro smiled. “We go all out and beat her before she beats us. Lance?” he said as he held his arm out to him.

Lance grinned as he was pulled up to his section of the panel. “On it.”

Everyone else braced themselves as the sonic cannon formed on the Sentinel’s back.

Mero chuckled as she sauntered up to the fallen robot. “What’s wrong, Rune Jerkbags? Fell down and can’t get back up...?”

_Boom._

Mero watched as the Sentinel rocketed back up on its feet, a shockwave spreading out from behind it. She barely had time to react as the head came smashing into hers, sending her reeling back; inside the cockpit, the Rangers were thrown about once more as the Sentinel grabbed its head with both hands.

“Oh, _man...”_ Hunk groaned as it stabilized. “Can we all agree on no more headbutting until the Sentinel gets better shock absorbers?”

“Yes,” everyone replied.

Mero and the Sentinel shook their heads, glared at each other, and proceeded to duke it out, throwing punches, throwing more waves of magic, giving and taking damage in equal measure. The civilians watching through holos prayed and cheered on the Rangers; Haggar and Zarkon watched Mero’s psychic link closely, if only to study where the Sentinel faltered, what weaknesses they could exploit for next time.

The Sentinel got in a good right hook, sending Mero staggering to the side and into a luxury hotel. She caught herself on the upper suites, destroying most of the rooms with a view of the Endless Sea; she caught her breath, turned around, and got ready to unleash another song.

The Sentinel’s left hand split open, electricity arcing between the tips before it thrust it into Mero’s gut.

Another wave of magic exploded from her mouth, a small one that only destroyed the hotel’s lighting and crystal arrays. “I-I-I-I-I H-AAA-T-T-T-EE-EE Y-Y-YO-U-UU GU-YSS-SSS!” Mero cried as she twitched and jerked.

The Sentinel pulled its hand back, before it started punching Mero further into the hotel with the other, suites, walls, and floors crumbling behind her, until finally, they got her vitals low enough.

“Ready?!” Shiro called out as he pulled out his rune.

“ _Ready!”_ everyone else cried as they did the same.

They all put them into special slots on the console, the whole panel lit up as a sword of pure light appeared in the Sentinel’s hands. It raised it up high into the air, the whole district bathed in its grossly incandescent radiance, before it brought it crashing down on Mero.

“ _ **SOLAR SLASH!”**_

Mero stood still for a moment, surprise in her eyes as a giant scar glowed on her body, tendrils of magic spreading from it and to the rest of her body.

_Boom._

She disappeared in a brilliant flash of light, the corrupted magic that powered her escaping back into the air, pure and free once more.

The Sentinel stood proud, its pilots grinning and cheering before they were all forcibly teleported out of the cockpit and back down to the ground. The damaged and drained Sentinel glowed bright then disappeared, returning back to Rune Terra.

“Oh yeah!” Lance cried as he threw his hands in the air. “Score _another_ one for the Rune Rangers!”

Haggar sighed as she stepped back through another portal. “My _sincerest_ apologies, your majesty…” she said, her head hung. “It would appear my creations have failed you once more...”

Zarkon sighed. “That they have...” he smiled. “Though it seems like as though they have revealed a very _interesting_ weakness within our foes.”

Haggar nodded. “Such a shame the green one is so steadfastly on their side...”

Zarkon chuckled. “For _now,_ at least...”


	6. Backstage Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't think of a clever title for this chapter,

“… Yes, yes, I’m sure no expense had been spared for the construction, and the total adds up to a princely sum indeed, but rest assured that we will pay for the damages!” Coran said as he sat at his desk in the Core. “Rune Terra is _literally_ made of some of the rarest, most valuable materials and minerals in the realm for this specific reason, among many others.”

He sighed quietly. “Yes, I understand you have plenty of profits to lose now that it’s tourist and convention season, but _no,_ we will not reimburse you for that!” There was a short pause, before Coran scowled. “Well it’s an _incredibly_ dangerous precedent to set, is what it is!

“Everyone and their ancestors are going to be claiming lost speculative profits for the flimsiest of reasons, and then we’ll have to waste precious time and resources weeding out the dubious claims, let alone verifying that someone is eligible!”

Another pause.

“You can’t predict exactly when an earthquake will hit, can you? Well neither can we with Zarkon and the Galra!” He began to fume. “Well if that’s how you feel, then I suggest you go call Zarkon’s realtors, see how much waterfront property costs there, and how many tourists might be deranged or delusional enough to pay to stay there!”

Coran pressed the mute button and cursed under his breath, before he unmuted it. “Good day, my fellow Avalonian,” he said, forcing a calm, even tone. He scowled again. “ _I said ‘Good day!’”_

_Click._

He sighed. “Whatever happened to gratitude…?” he muttered, before he forced a smile and answered the next call among thousands queued up on his terminal. “Rune Terra, home of the Rune Rangers! This is Coran, Maiden Allura’s personal servant speaking, how may I help you...?”

Elsewhere in the dining hall, the Rangers and Allura were all getting back to their half-eaten meals from earlier, or settling down with freshly made plates, their favourite varieties of “Cerea” soda flowing freely from the dispensers.

It was a time of merriment and celebration, bragging about accomplishments in battle and poking holes in the exaggerations, congratulating each other and being thankful that they’d pulled through this clash victorious, bruised and battered but all in one piece.

Like all good things, however, it had to end. Empty plates and dirty utensils were cleared, last rounds of Cerea were poured before the hoses receded back into the ceiling, and the conversation quieted down as Shiro and Allura stood up from their seats.

“Exemplary work today, Rangers!” Allura started. “We’ve beaten back Zarkon’s forces once again, and it’ll be a long while yet before they attempt another attack of this magnitude. Valentino is safe, if busy rebuilding and relocating the unlucky businesses and homes caught in the crossfire, but still: better than being forced under the boot of Zarkon’s rule!”

“However, we can’t ignore the fact that it was a _very_ close victory, one we wouldn’t have gotten if Fate hadn’t smiled upon us,” Shiro said.

Pidge looked down. Hunk and Keith reached out and patted her on either shoulder.

“Our biggest strength is our ability to work as a team, complimenting each others’ strengths, covering our weaknesses, becoming a force greater than the sum of all of us individuals,” Shiro said. “But that doesn’t mean that as soon as we’ve lost one, or Piper forbid, are turned against us, we all fall apart.”

“I’m sorry...” Pidge muttered. “I should have fought Mero’s mind control harder, should have--”

“Pidge?” Allura said.

Pidge looked up at her.

Allura smiled. “It’s not your fault, Pidge; you weren’t yourself, you were under that _terrible_ monster’s spell.”

“You _also_ turned that situation right around when you got Mero’s troops to betray her, bought us time to recover and regroup, along with the all important element of surprise,” Shiro added. He smiled. “I gotta say, Pidge, that was a risky move, and one that was executed _beautifully._ ”

“I’m not even mad about you stabbing and shocking me stupid while you were brainwashed and crazy!” Lance added. “Though, you know, if you want to do something nice for me anyway, it’d be _really_ appreciated.”

“You can discuss that later, Lance, because for now, it’s time to discuss what we’ve learned from this battle and what we’re going to do about it, because I can _guarantee_ you that Zarkon and his forces are going to take full advantage of this from here on out,” Shiro said as he pulled out his comm-crystal.

Holograms appeared in front of the others’ faces as their own devices activated, their screens filled with their schedules and lists of reminders.

“Starting tomorrow, we’re only going to have one full-team exercise per week, with the rest of the group training sessions split into either 2-4 member combat drills, sometimes against the golems, sometimes against each other.

“The rest will be training and education in skills outside of your respective specialties, with the goal of all of you being able to lead the others should I or Allura be occupied or out-of-commission, fill in for someone else, or free the rest of us for more important matters.

“I’m not expecting any of you to be able to match Pidge and Hunk’s magitechnical expertise, Lance’s marksmanship, or Allura’s diplomatic skills. What I _am_ expecting all of you have at the end of six months is:

“A basic understanding of the inner workings of most common magitechnical systems, and how to bypass common low-level security measures,

“Being able shoot at least _two_ standard-issue AFA weapons with at least 60% accuracy or better,

“And being able to talk your way out of most situations short of negotiating more financial support from governments of the city states, and our private benefactors.”

“And on a related note, I feel as if though all of our intense focus on teaming up and coordinating our attacks has seriously hampered our ability to fight as individuals,” Allura said. “Much as it turned out to our favour that Pidge was not nearly on my level of skill in our duel earlier, she still ultimately won through the use of trickery, a tactic that only worked because I was unwilling to seriously hurt her.

“Zarkon’s troops will not nearly be as merciful or considerate, which is why I believe it is time to expand your knowledge and advance your skills in the Fae’s combat techniques, specifically the Elemental Fist styles.

“As the intermediate-level training is as intensely personal and unique to you as your alignment, it will have to be one-to-one tutoring for the next six weeks, which is why tomorrow morning, I’m going to be starting with Pidge!” she finished.

Shiro frowned. “Actually, Allura, I was planning on kicking things off with Pidge and Lance tomorrow morning, why don’t you pick someone else?”

Allura narrowed her eyes at him. “And why don’t _you_ pick someone else instead? We have four more Rangers, not including ourselves, surely you could do just as well Keith or Hunk?”

The air in the room changed in an instant. Hunk frowned, Lance and Keith silently cheered on whoever they were supporting, Pidge sighed and distracted herself with her comm-crystal.

Shiro held up two fingers. “One, we need Hunk repairing and upgrading the titans, and two, it would be a boon for the entire team if Pidge could teach the rest of us about the techniques, and the knowledge she learned from her days in Jahilliyah—deception and subversion _is_ what almost doomed us _and_ saved our asses today.

“What do _you_ need her for?”

“Two reasons also,” Allura replied coolly. “One, she’s a full blooded Fae and is biologically much more capable of handling the stress and the rigours of training, and two, no offense to you Hunk, but with myself being water aligned, I’m not the most effective at teaching the Earth Fist.”

“None taken!” Hunk said.

Shiro mulled it over for a moment, before he nodded. “Okay, I’ll accept the first, but the second I’ve got a problem with; by that logic, you could be training Lance, because even if he’s human, you’re both of the same alignment.”

“Yes, I could, but you see, he’s most proficient in firearms, not unarmed combat, and it would be best for us to maintain some our strengths as we go about covering our weaknesses,” Allura replied, much less coolly than earlier.

“ _Especially_ because we Fae rely largely on natural growth and development, rather than you humans building better magitech to compensate for your own shortcomings,” she said, eyeing Shiro’s prosthetic arm.

Shiro noticed, and was not amused. “It seems like we’ve both got good reasons for wanting Pidge…” he said.

“Yes, _yes we do,_ ” Allura said as she stepped in and brought their faces close together, their eyes locking as lighting started to crackle between them.

Hunk debated on stepping in. Keith and Lance discretely made bets as to who would win the stare-off. Pidge frowned and raised her hand.

“Uh, Shiro, Allura? I’ve got an idea.”

The two of them reluctantly pulled away from each other, and turned to Pidge, all smiles as they nodded their heads and made it clear that they were listening.

“How about Allura trains Shiro instead? Even if he is human, he _is_ physically the strongest and most proficient close-range-quarters combatant on the team alongside Allura, plus the data I can get from his prosthetic will also go a long way in building improvements to our gear, help bring the rest of us close to your levels.

“Then, Lance would be free to teach Keith how to shoot human-made guns and Keith could teach him how to fire Fae-made projectile weapons, while me and Hunk will be free to work with upgrading both the titans and our helmets to protect against hypnotic or disruptive attacks like the ones Mero used.

“Sound good?”

Allura and Shiro simultaneously looked surprised, thoughtful, disappointed, resigned, until finally, they both smiled and nodded their heads.

“That’s an _excellent_ suggestion, Pidge!” Allura said.

“One that we’re all going to take, right guys?” Shiro added quickly.

“Yeah, sure, I’ve got no problem with that!” Hunk said.

“Could probably also use this as an opportunity to teach Lance the benefits of _shutting up_ every once in a while, sure,” Keith said.

Lance glared at him. “And I can use this to teach him the benefits of _not_ being a dick to his teammates,” he muttered.

“So it’s settled then!” Shiro said as he put his hands together. “Let’s go coordinate and finalize schedules so everyone will have access to the rooms and equipment they need—wouldn’t want to snatch something someone else wants, right?” he said, casting a sideways glance at Allura.

Her nose twitched in annoyance. “No, no we would not…” she growled.

The tension disappeared as the Rangers all went through the boring, tedious, but necessary business of filling out forms and discussing who would be using which of Rune Terra’s facilities at the time, its vast but not unlimited stores of equipment and training dummies, while leaving space for the others to rest or get some time to themselves, to minimize the chances of Zarkon attacking while the Rangers were exhausted, stressed out, or otherwise not at their absolute best.

Schedules were finalized, points were summarized, questions were asked and addressed, and the meeting was over.

“Alright, that’s all for today, Rangers dismissed!” Shiro said. “Get some rest or get started on those plans you’ve been saving for an all clear; Piper forbid he has something else waiting in his sleeves, we won’t have another attack for at least a week.”

Everyone got up, and began to leave, heading back to their rooms, the Core, or to the Foundry and the titan’s dens.

Shiro hurried up after Pidge and Hunk. “Oh, hey, Pidge, can I ask you something real quick? Not official Ranger business, to be clear.”

“Oh, sure!” Pidge said as she stopped. “Go on without me, Hunk, I’ll catch up with you.”

“Got it!” Hunk said, before he discretely gave Shiro an encouraging thumbs up.

Shiro tamped down on the blush threatening to creep on his cheeks. “Provided you and Hunk don’t spend the next week or so trying to find a way to keep Zarkon’s mind-control and stunning magic at bay…

“… Do you want to go out on another hike sometime?”

Pidge frowned. “Oh, sorry, can’t—already made plans with Allura.”

Shiro’s eyes widened. “O-oh, I see! Would you happen to be free next time the coast looks clear, then?”

Pidge shook her head. “Probably not. It’s convention season again, and I’ve got plans.”

Shiro nodded. “I see. That was all I wanted to ask about, you can go now, Pidge.”

“Bye Shiro!” Pidge said, before she headed to one of the elevators.

Shiro turned to Allura, just about to leave the dining hall through the halls leading back to the Core. She had her back turned to him, but he could feel the smug, victorious grin on her face.

“This time...” he thought to himself. “This time for sure...”

Because he had this feeling that if he failed to make a move still, there wouldn’t be a “next time.”


	7. Chapter 7

Pidge and Hunk spent the rest of the afternoon repairing the titans and making prototypes for defenses against sonic attacks like Mero’s singing.

Though modifying their gear and the giant constructs was as easy as changing values and drafting designs on a terminal and letting the magic of the runes do the rest, making up entirely new magitech far beyond the boundaries of what both the humans and the Fae had achieved was still no mean feat.

They called it for the day at six. The titans were fully repaired and recharging their power cores for the next fight, while a team of golems tried to recreate the exact frequency of Mero’s singing for testing whether or not the new upgrades would hold up in practice as they did in theory.

<Not looking forward to hearing that tomorrow...> Hunk muttered as they cleaned up the empty bottles, cartons, and boxes of snacks they’d left around their work space.

<Who would be?> Pidge asked as she vacuumed up the crumbs and stray bits, then polished the counters till they were gleaming once more. <At least we can test it by blasting the golems instead of one of us—her ‘song’ is _still_ ringing in my head.>

<I’ve been meaning to ask you what it was like under her spell, actually,> Hunk said as he put his armload of trash onto a teleporter. <You know, if it’s not too traumatic to bring up.>

Pidge winced. <How do I describe it...> she said as she opened up the supply cabinet. <It’s like having an off-key, tone-deaf voice in your head screeching the most _annoyingly_ catchy song imaginable, and the it’s saying the only to get it to stop is to do everything the lyrics tell you to, and yet it doesn’t:

<It just gets worse and _worse_ , and you just keep on following the lyrics anyway.>

<What was she saying?> Hunk asked as he pressed a button, and the trash disappeared through a rip in reality.

Pidge shrugged. <She wasn’t singing words, exactly, it was like how the titans talk to us: ideas, suggestions, emotions,> she said as she put the vacuum and the cleaning supplies back in their proper places. <If I had to hazard a translation, part of it would definitely go ‘Like, obey me, doucheschnozzle!’>

Hunk laughed, but he stopped and looked at her in worry soon after. <Are you okay, Pidge?>

Pidge sighed as she closed the closet. <No. Not going to be for a long, _long_ while.>

Hunk walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. <You want to talk about it?>

Pidge turned to him then shook her head. <No offense to you, Hunk, but I don’t want to weigh you down with all this heavy stuff right now, we’re both pretty brain-fried from all that protyping.>

Hunk frowned. <Alright, but promise me you’re not going to keep it all to yourself again?>

Pidge smiled and held up her hand. <I promise! Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson about keeping secrets from my friends.>

Hunk smiled. <Good. Thought we’re going to have to do that whole song and dance again back when you were still working for Jahilliyah…>

<That time of my life is over, Hunk,> Pidge said. <I’m a Rune Ranger now. One of the good guys.>

But as Hunk bid her goodbye, and left to go cook dinner, she had to wonder: _was_ it really over…?

* * *

“… No, ma’am, I’m afraid, I can not guarantee you that Keith will be your son’s temporary boyfriend for the entirety of his birthday,” Allura said as she sat at her seat in the Core, in front of the terminal built into her part of the table.

“Ma’am, Keith is a living, breathing Avalonian with rights and feelings just like you or me: he’s not _property_ to be rented out willy-nilly!” Her eyes widened. She chewed her lip for a moment, before she quietly sighed, and said, “That is a _very_ generous sum indeed, ma’am, but I’m afraid there is just no price that can be paid for Keith or the time of any of us.

“We’re the Defenders of Avalon, not a companion service.

“Besides, what if Zarkon’s forces decide to use the opportunity to attack Keith, have your son caught in the collateral damage? Would risking his safety and that of his guests really be worth it?” Allura paused. “ _Really_ now? Well, yes, I have heard of Crossfire-Cam, but I never—no, ma’am, I will still have to—ma’am, I’m truly very sorry, but my decision remains unchanged:

“Keith nor any of the other Rangers cannot be contracted for their time and presence, for companionship or any other reason.”

There was a long pause. “Ma’am, those situations were our voluntarily offering ourselves to the cause or the organization involved, we weren’t paid to appear at those events; any sort of monetary value assigned to our presence and the profits from the publicity and the exposure is not indicative of any sort of transaction nor payment.”

Allura frowned. “Ma’am, for security and privacy reasons, no, I cannot give you Keith’s private comm-line… no, I will not pass the message on, either.” She bit back a sigh. “Good day, my fellow Avalonian,” she said, before she cut the line.

She groaned, let her head hit the table. <Oh, _Eluna_ , what _happened_ these past 1,000 years?>

Coran sighed as he worked on the paperwork for some of the approved damage claims. “Lots of things, apparently, quite a few of them negative! Honestly, I never thought I’d ever see the day when you’d save a person’s life, and they’d _still_ sue you for the Sentinel accidentally stepping over their car.”

“Suppose we’ll just have to deal with it, as we always do...” Allura muttered as she lifted her head-up, and reluctantly turned her attention back to her terminal’s screen.

She was about to answer another damage claim—seriously, did all those businesses have a rotating, dedicated staff on-hand to insistently call whoever had wronged them in any way?--when she noticed a new message icon.

It was from Pidge, separated from the others and easily distinguished by the icon of a green chinchilla with a paper envelope in its mouth.

The right thing to do would have been to ignore it and keep on working, read it later when she and Coran had both called it a day with sorting out the inevitably messy aftermath of a Galra attack. It couldn’t have been a priority message, either, as if it were, it would have automatically opened.

But, like so many others before her, she couldn’t help but get curious and click the icon.

The message was simple: <Hey Allura, can I come over to your room and talk with you after dinner, just the two of us?>

The emotions Allura felt afterward was a complex mishmash, overlapping and crashing into each other: Surprise, Elation, Curiosity, Worry, Fear, Confusion, Dread, and finally, _Panic._

Coran looked up from manually putting in the few details Pidge’s “paper golems” couldn’t deal with, noticed Allura’s distress, her ears pulled back in worry and beads of sweat already appearing on her forehead.

<Your highness!> he cried as he rushed over to her. <Are you alright?!>

Allura tried to say <I’m fine!> but all she managed was look at Coran with terrified eyes, then point at the message like it was a giant, vicious banana tiger that had appeared in a plantation deep within the walls of Fae settlement.

Coran looked at the screen, and read Pidge’s message. <Ah.>

<She sent this an hour ago!> Allura cried. <An _hour! >_

<Fret not, your highness!> Coran said. <I’m certain Pidge understands that we’ve been terribly busy here at the Core, and wouldn’t blame you for taking your time responding!>

<How am I supposed to? Do that. _Reply to her!_ > Allura sputtered, feeling all of her years of training in social norms, diplomatic protocol, and grace and wit fly out the window, then die horrible, messy deaths on the street outside. <I mean, this could be _anything!_ Does she just want a friendly chat between us? Is this something much more serious? Or is this her way of trying to make a move, get the two of us alone and somewhere private?

<Do I say yes? Do I say no…? What do I do?!>

<Well, first, I have to ask: do you wish to speak with her in private later?> Coran asked.

Allura groaned. < _I do,_ but there’s still so much work to be done here!> she said, gesturing at the messages still flooding their comm-lines.

Coran beamed and put a hand on his chest. <Leave that to me! They’ll all still be persistently hounding us tomorrow, _this_ is an opportunity that you might not have again! This could be your chance, Allura: make your move, tell her how you really feel, do what Shiro’s been trying and failing to all this time!>

Allura looked at the number of pending communication requests, then at Coran. <Are you sure you can handle this, Coran?> she asked.

Coran looked as grimly determined as a man about to dive deep into the thick of customer service could be. <For you, your highness? I will take on a _nything. >_

Allura smiled. _< Thank you, _Coran, I am forever in your debt.>

Coran waved her off. <You just go get yourself and your quarters ready for your talk with Pidge! Starting with messaging her back and telling her yes, you will see her back at your room.>

Allura turned back to her terminal, started making a reply. <Right...>

Had the message been from any of the other Rangers—even Shiro—Allura would have made and sent a message back in a heartbeat, warm and friendly, with a reminder that she always available any time they needed her.

As it was from Pidge, she spent the next half hour nervously bent over the holo-keypad of her terminal, discussing and working out her reply with Coran, with all the graveness of a situation room in the middle of a prolonged and brutal war.

<Is the smiley face at the end too much?> Allura asked, her ears drooping in worry. <Maybe it’s too much. Especially because this could be a request for a serious talk, and that might make her think that I think this is going to just be a friendly chat, and then she’d just cancel and find someone else to talk with, and that might end up being Shiro and-->

Coran put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. <And I think that maybe you _should_ keep the smiley face, add a personal touch to it. That’s how you show interest, don’t you? Give them the special treatment, go the extra mile where you wouldn’t with others. >

Allura frowned. <True…> She sighed. < _Eluna_ , I feel like a teenaged girl panicking over her crush asking her out on a date!> she paused. <… Which isn’t _entirely_ inaccurate, now that I’ve said it out loud...>

<Just calm down, Princess, and we’ll send her the best reply you can give,> Coran said.

And so they returned to discussing Allura’s reply, refining it, editing it, making sure that it conveyed exactly what she wanted it to, and that there wasn’t anything that could be misinterpreted or confuse Pidge in any way, shape or form, till she had the absolutely purest heart of her message, with just the right amount of personal touch and extra effort, without getting _too_ blatant or desperate.

<Sure, Pidge. :)>

<’Brevity is wit,’ to quote one of the Old World’s great writers,> Coran said as Allura sent it.

She sighed as she looked at the holo-display; never had she thought the animation of one of her mice taking an enveloped into their mouth and scurrying off could make her so anxious.

<Message sent!> said Actaeon text on the screen as the mouse stopped and looked quite pleased with themselves.

<There...> she said as she slumped back into her seat. <It’s done. Now all I can do is wait… should I ask her to message me back?>

<Best not,> Coran replied. <There’s really no inconsuspicious reason for you to do so, and when she figures that out, it might strike a match to that legendary curiosity of hers. Then, there’d be no stopping her from prying _you_ open instead of opening up to you.>

Allura nodded. <And here I thought courtship was complicated 1,000 years ago...>

Coran patted her again. <Just be yourself and prepare the best you can, your highness. You know: fluff up your nest, spritz something soothing into the air, maybe even doll yourself up and ‘get into something more comfortable’ as they say in Nivian.>

Allura blushed. <Coran!> she cried.

Coran looked confused. <What? What’d I say?>

<Your suggesting me and Pidge--!> she made a sexy animal noise.

Coran blinked. <When did I say that?>

<’Slip into something more comfortable’ is a euphemism for changing into lingerie, clothes more suitable for>\--she made a sexy animal noise--<or just outright stripping naked,> Allura explained, cheeks still burning.

<Is it now? My goodness, only in Nivian could something so innocent and innocuous be given such a lewd spin...> he said as he shook his head.

<Just don’t use it again, Coran…> Allura muttered.

Coran smiled. <I won’t. And if I may point out, it seems _you’ve_ been spending far too much time among the human settlements, too.>

Allura groaned. <I’m leaving!> she said as she got up and made haste for the door. <Good luck with the calls, Coran!>

<And good luck with your and Pidge’s ‘ ** _tête-à-tête!_** _’_ > Coran said as he walked back to his terminal, put his headset back on, and forced a smile on his face. “Rune Terra, home of the Rune Rangers! This is Coran, Maiden Allura’s personal servant speaking, how may I help you...?”


	8. Sleeping Over and Opening Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friend says I hurt every character I write about. They are right.

<Get this room ready for Pidge as quickly as you can, with whatever means necessary,> Allura said to her mice after she returned to her room.

It wasn’t a stern, strict command from a drill sergeant so much as the panicked, desperate plea of someone who was soon to be doomed, like a college student that had just remembered that the deadline for their big term paper was _today_ , not tomorrow.

Her four Celestian mice all saluted her, before they quickly went to work, scurrying all about her room and putting their species’ iconic long, prehensile tails to good use. They put things back into their proper places or shoved them out-of-sight; cleaned up the floors, the walls, and the ceilings; and did their level best to mask or erase or any of the traces of Allura’s more private activities that she _really_ rather would have none of the other Rangers knowing.

(Or in the case of Pidge, not this soon.)

She had to marvel at items her mice were putting away or disposing of: long-forgotten snack containers and empty wrappers, plates, and utensils from the dining hall; depleted batteries and elemental mediums for all the various trinkets she used to amuse herself, both in the innocent and the _not-so-innocent_ sense; and _way_ too many used articles of clothing for her liking, especially because a large number of them were undergarments.

She was starting to regret telling Coran that he could take shortcuts and lessen his workload without repercussion, be _much_ less thorough with his housekeeping duties than a thousand years back.

<Come now, Coran, you don’t have _nearly_ the same amount of help and staff on your side now, and five other Rangers to attend to beside. I’ll survive without daily cleaning! A little dust, some litter, and dirty laundry laying about never killed anyone. >

Oh, if only she’d known just how _disgusting_ she could get, she would have taken up Pidge on the offer of making cleaning golems! Especially now that she realized that she had already seen this _disaster area_ that was her room, the last time she was here and all the other times she had visited...

<That’s a problem for another time, Allura,> she thought to herself. <Focus on _now_ , not then.>

And the problem of the moment was that Pidge was due her any minute.

She’d only had this gigantic headstart because she often ate distracted, studying something or chewing over some conundrum alongside her food, and Allura had been so excited and terrified of the prospect of having her over that she didn’t have much of an appetite, lest all that food go to waste when she vomited from the stress or the excitement—possibly both.

The mice started shoving drawers shut, locking containers, and throwing fabrics or pinning written reminders and documents over the more stubborn or sizable of the messes, before one of them set about spritzing something nice and citrusy in the air, while the rest scoured her wardrobe and pulled out an oversized shirt with a wild, ferocious logo on it.

Allura recognized it as a gift from Hunk, a commemorative T-shirt from one of his, Lance, and Pidge’s favourite bands, ‘The Ice Lords.’ Though it was too small for him now, he had refitted it so that she could wear it as pajamas, and she had sometimes when she was too sleepy to find her usual sleepwear.

<Are you sure about this?> Allura asked as three of her mice stopped before her, holding up the shirt between them like a tarpaulin.

They nodded.

Allura sighed, and began to change into it; she supposed that the strange magical resonance that had developed between them during cryosleep hadn’t led her astray yet, it probably wouldn’t this time either.

The three mice carted off the dress she had been wearing all day and shoved it into a portal leading into the laundry room. The fourth that had been spraying perfume into the air stopped as they started to get overwhelmed by the mist of fragrance, spinning about dizzy with the spray-can tilting them every which way.

Allura caught them before they hit the ground, and put them on the dresser the rest of the mice were waiting on. All together once more, they gave Allura’s room a final sweep.

It was _far_ from pristine, but it did have a comfortable, “lived-in” look about it, like someone did actually sleep and live here, than it being a display model for prospective tenants, or the set for a holo advertisement. The sheer amount of citrusy scent in the air was a bit much, like she was hiding something particularly foul, but she supposed the vents would whisk it away soon enough

She turned to her mice and started petting them on their heads. <Good job, everyone,> she said, before she dug up a surplus of treats for them; the four mice happily took their rewards with their tails, before they scurried off to the miniature model of Rune Terra that was their home.

They scurried on back with two items between them: a jar of peanut butter, and one spoon.

Allura smiled. <Oh, thank you, Pidge, is going to _love_ this!>

The mice all gave her an exasperated look.

Allura frowned. <This _is_ for her, right?>

The smallest of the mice grabbed the spoon in their tail, mimed scooping it into the peanut butter and shoving it into their mouth; then, they handed it to the pink mouse who did the same.

Allura blushed. _< Oh.>_

The runes on her bedroom door started to glow. The mice noticed, threw the spoon and the jar at Allura, she reflexively caught them both. She watched them scurry off back to their habitat, before she whirled around to face her visitor.

Pidge waved as she stepped in, dressed in a shirt that was a little too large for her frame, and boxer shorts, merchandise from the same band that was on the shirt Allura was wearing. Pidge noticed, and her eyes lit up and chinchilla ears perked up.

<Oh, hey, you’re wearing an Ice Lords shirt too!> she said. <Cool!>

Allura could feel her mice high-fiving and congratulating themselves.

She smiled at Pidge, and said, <Yes, Hunk gave it to me a while back. It’s quite comfortable, actually!”

Pidge nodded as she came up to her. <It’s one of the big reasons I keep supporting the band: they don’t half-ass the raw materials for their stuff.> She groaned. <You wouldn’t _believe_ the kind of flimsy, half-rate components some bands will make merchandise out of, and how much they’ll charge for it just because it has their logo on it, and it was made on their fabricators.>

She paused. <Sorry. Flimsy licensed merchandise is kind of a sour point with me...>

Allura smiled. <Oh it’s fine Pidge! Believe me, I understand _completely_ ; I still can’t fathom why humans willingly manufacture _anything_ that isn’t meant to last the year or even a couple of months!>

<I suppose it’s because it’s great for bottom line of the companies making them,> Pidge said. <We’re getting off topic: do you want to to go talk about that thing I mentioned in my message?> She paused. <Or we could _not,_ in case you changed your mind... >

Allura gently put her hands on Pidge’s shoulders. <Pidge, I am _absolutely_ ready to listen to whatever it is you need to say; as I said before, my ears are _always_ open.> She pointed up to her massive bunny ears, then realized she still had the spoon and the peanut butter in her hands.

She quickly held them out. <The mice have even been nice enough to get you this, if you need comfort food.>

Pidge hummed as she took them from her. <Tell them I said {Thanks!}> She gestured at her with the spoon. <You want any? I’ll be cool with sharing a spoon with you.>

Flashes of things involving the spoon, Pidge’s mouth, and peanut butter that weren’t _entirely_ innocent ran through Allura’s mind. _< Nope, _it’s all yours!> she blurted.

She could feel her mice putting their paws to their faces or throwing them skyward.

Pidge shrugged. <If you say so!>

Allura quickly gestured to her nest, the pillows and cushions all over it thankfully still all fluffed up from Coran’s cleaning up earlier that morning. <Come now, let’s sit down in my nest and have that talk you wanted.>

Pidge nodded. <Should I leave the peanut butter here? I might get it all over your sheets.>

Allura laughed. <Pidge, please: you have my permission to do _anything_ you’d like in my nest!>

Pidge got a mischievous look in her eyes. <Does that include you?>

Allura choked as her cheeks exploded into flames.

Pidge’s ears pulled back as she gave Allura a sheepish smile. <… Sorry, think I caught the Cheesy Joke bug from you and Lance…> she muttered.

Allura let out a painfully awkward laugh. _< So __it seems_ _... >_

The two of them awkwardly laid down in Allura’s nest; the tension quickly disappeared as the two of them got comfortable in it, nestling into the soft cushions and curling up in the silky blankets before they faced each other.

Pidge took a deep breath, and let it go slowly. <I want to talk about earlier today, when I almost killed all of you guys...>

Allura nodded, looking at her and silently urging her to go on.

Pidge looked away for a moment. <You know that I did awful, _awful_ things when I was part of Jahiliyyah, right?>

Allura nodded. <Yes I do, Pidge, and again, we _all_ know you’ve moved on from that.>

Pidge sighed. <That’s just it: I’m not really sure if I have.>

Allura frowned. <What do you mean?>

<It’s...> Pidge groaned and looked to the side. <It’s going to take a while to explain, because it’s all the stuff I cut out from last time, sorry...>

Allura smiled. <Good thing we’ve got all night.> She gently put her hand on her shoulder. <Just tell me, Pidge, I’ll listen.>

Pidge gave her a small smile back, before turned to the ceiling with a far-off look in her eyes. <When Jahiliyyah first recruited me, I was strictly in the hacking and the data-gathering side of it, breaking into databases, making backdoors and exploits into all the latest security systems and protocols, sometimes even hiding in vans or safe-houses, listening in to live wire-taps when we couldn’t trust the job with an AI…

<It was _really_ boring work. I’m still surprised that the Old World movies ever thought hacking and spying could be heart-pumping exciting, something you’d want to watch, that happens in the span of five or so intense minutes rather than long, boring, and drawn-out days.

<I’m not even going to bother telling you what it was like, it was _that_ dull!

<But still, I stuck with it all, because Jahiliyyah promised me that they’d give me information about my family once I proved I was a valuable enough asset to them—anything they had involving Zarkon and the Galra were from high-risk operations, and commanded a proportionately high price.

<It worked for the first three months, but then I started to get impatient, and more importantly, _bored_. I started working with their experimental magitech division, but even then, there were only so many projects I could be authorized to work on since I was a newbie still.

<’You have potential, we can see that,’ my supervisor told me once, ‘but have yet to earn our trust.’>

Pidge looked down. <My mistake was asking how I could earn it faster.>

<What did they have you do?> Allura asked.

Pidge looked up at Allura, regret clear on her face. <I got into their blackmail and extortion division.

<A lot of the top organizations don’t even put their most sensitive and important information in their databases: they have someone with the appropriate cybernetic mods or an _extremely_ good memory remember it, share it with people face-to-face in a SCIF where we’re effectively blind and deaf--”Gatekeepers,” we called them.

<No one outside of the Galra have found a way to reliably, _forcibly_ extract it from someone’s brain, and Zarkon sure isn’t sharing any of their magtech, so we had to rely on one of the oldest espionage tactics in the book: wine them and dine them, find something incriminating that they will give it up in exchange for our silence, or trick them into accidentally sharing it.

<To be good at this job, you need finesse, charisma, a strong stomach, the ability to bullshit people with a completely straight face, and betray people who trusted in you at the drop of a hat, so Jahiliyyah takes very good care of and rewards their blackmailers and extortionists handsomely.

<They told me that if I could pass the training and prove myself a valuable asset, I could start getting info about dad and Matt within the year, than within _five_ years, at best. And because their kidnapping was still raw in my mind, and I’m still a teenager without fully-developed impulse-control or the ability to comprehend long-term consequences, I caved.>

Pidge went silent. Allura patiently waited for her to continue.

<They start us off easy, you know…?> Pidge muttered.

<Controversial celebrities, corrupt politicians, unscrupulous businessmen—real _scum of the realm_ types, the ones that make you doubt karma really exists. The targets we’d have no little to no qualms about digging dirt on, lulling into false senses of security, setting up traps for—sometimes, we’d even be _glad_ to do it for free, just to see the looks on their faces, see {justice} done on them.

<It helps that they make our jobs so simple. You’ve no idea the kind of juicy material these people will just leave lying around, the security measures they don’t take: if you don’t have publicly released holos of them bragging about all the terrible things they’ve done, it’s easy enough to find the basis of a scandal that even the most jaded and cynical of the realm will cry foul of.

<It helped that I was shockingly effective at that role. No one ever expects the tiny teenage chinchilla Fae to know about what you did last spring, to be the one orchestrating your downfall, to be the one to order her henchmen to do all kinds of horrible things to you, your associates, and your loved ones if you didn’t give her what she wanted…

<… And this is where it all loops back to today.

<You see, to do all of those crimes, I compartmentalized it, made full-on suprevillain alter-ego. {Oh, that wasn’t _me_ , Katie Holt, that was the _Carrier Pidgeon_ , the Jahiliyyah agent revealing to the sweet, innocent spearhead of a political organization that his husband was cheating on him with who was _supposed to be_ the surrogate mother for their child,} I’d say to myself.

<It got to the point where it felt like I was standing to the side watching a movie, this Fae that looks and sounds _strikingly_ like me, but _couldn’t_ be me, because I’d never do something so horrible and then not bothered it in the slightest!>

Pidge’s ears drooped. <I thought I’d left all of that behind when I joined you guys—when I finally found that lead I’ve been praying for, some way to get dad and Matt back. That that was the _end_ of the Carrier Pidgeon, no more ruined lives, no more manipulation and blackmail, no more personally having a hand in making Solaris an even _bigger_ crap-hole than it already is…

<… But now?> she said as she looked up at Allura. <Now, I’m not so sure...>

<Back there, with Mero: what if she _didn’t_ turn me against you guys? What if her magic was just meant to disable whatever part of me was keeping me from going back to my old ways, like flipping off a gun’s safety mechanism? What exactly is it that that I’ve been suppressing or letting loose when I needed to be the Carrier Pidgeon, and what can I do to make sure that never happens again?!>

<I’m _scared_ , Allura,> Pidge whispered, her eyes welling with tears, her whole body trembling. <I’m scared of what would have happened to you guys if Shiro hadn’t tackled Mero to the ground and accidentally figured out the flaw in her mind control.

<I’m scared of what would happen if the Galra manage to turn me against you guys once more.

<I’m scared of _myself,_ because _w_ _hat am I?!_ A Rune Ranger, or a _monster_ who just _thinks_ she’s one?! >

Allura immediately came over to Pidge and hugged her. Pidge began to wrap her arms around her then stopped, sniffing and hiccuping as she tried to hold her tears back.

<Don’t fight it, Pidge,> Allura said, <just let it come, and it will pass...>

Pidge cried out in frustration, before buried her face in Allura’s chest, her arms wrapping around tight around her, claws digging in tight into Hunk’s old shirt as she started sobbing.

Allura started humming an ancient Actaeon lullaby; the words had long fallen into disuse or changed dramatically since, but like with the Ice Lords, being unable to understand the lyrics never bothered Pidge.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gets REALLY dark with Mentions of Death and the more serious elements of this fic, though believe me, no one will die in this fic.

<I’m really sorry you had to see all that...> Pidge muttered as she scooped out a huge glob of peanut butter, then shoved it into her mouth.

<Pidge, _really,_ it’s no problem at all!> Allura said as she sat beside her. <If no one was ever allowed to have an ugly-cry with trusted friends and family, we’d all go _crazy_ lashing out at everyone, or die laying in our nests, too depressed to do anything.>

Pidge nodded as she pulled the spoon out of her mouth. <You have a point,> she said through a mouthful of creamy, nutty goodness. <So what can I do about it?>

<Take a page out of air weaver training: make the conscious choice to let go of the guilt, let it blow away like leaves in the breeze,> Allura replied.

Pidge swallowed her mouthful of peanut butter. <So, what, am I supposed to just _forget_ that I did all these crimes…?> she asked as she stuck her spoon back in.

Allura shook her head. <Not _forget, forgive_ yourself for it.

<There’s no erasing the things you’ve done, Pidge, no undoing the damage, nor giving back the lives you’ve had a hand in ruining to outright ending. But you have a choice to wallow in your guilt, let the fear that you might fall back into your old ways paralyze you with terror, or you can continue doing what you have been these past couple of months:

<Use all the skills, the knowledge, and the experience Jahiliyyah has given you for _good_ this time.

<I understand why Mero’s being able to use you to almost destroy us all scares you—it was a terrifying, traumatizing experience for all of us! But that’s not a reason to try to suppress that part of you, try to lock it up in some deep part of your mind like a monster or a dangerous criminal, never to be seen again.

<As weavers like myself find out, the things that bring out the worst in us can _also_ be the key to bringing out our best—it’s all in how you use it, and when.> Allura smiled. <As the saying goes, {The difference between a suicidal fool and a brave hero is that the latter knows when to jump into the fray.}>

Pidge nodded as she stuck her spoon back in. She started scooping out another gob of peanut butter, before she stopped. <Allura…?> she asked quietly. <Can I tell you something really dark and awful?>

Allura looked at her in worry, before she nodded her head. <What is it?>

Pidge’s ears flattened. <If… if the Galra manage to turn me against you guys again, and it looks like I’m _actually_ going to succeed in killing all of you, and/or help them take over Avalon… you have my express permission to kill me, if that’s what it’ll take.

<I _promise_ my echo’s not going to haunt Rune Terra for all of eternity. >

Allura fell silent.

Pidge looked away. <… There’s like what, three, four billion humans, and seven, twelve billion Fae in this realm…?> she said as she idly moved the peanut butter around. <I’m sure one of them would make a great replacement Emerald Ranger...>

Allura reached out and put her hand atop Pidge’s own. <That they would be, but they’ll never be another you.>

Pidge didn’t respond.

<Pidge… I can understand why you’re asking me of this, especially because the team before you ended up sacrificing their own lives to save all of us, native Fae and the First Settlers alike. But that was only as a last resort, and largely because Zarkon, his army, and the Viridian Valley were like _nothing_ we’d ever seen before.

<Back then, we didn’t know _how_ to defeat them without going to such extreme measures… but we do now, and there’s the many cracks and rot in the empire beside.>

Still no reaction.

<Pidge…? Pidge! Katie… Katie, _please_ , look at me…> she said as she put her other hand on Pidge’s cheek, gently coaxed her to face her.

Pidge slowly, reluctantly did.

<On my honour as the Crystal Maiden, one of the last members of Clan Altea, and your _friend_ , I say that I will do my _damndest_ to make it so that will we never need to go so far as to slay our own, be it you, or anyone else on this team! >

Her eyes softened. <I love you, Pidge. _W_ _e all do!_ _>_ Allura added quickly.  <So long as there’s a way to save you from the Galra’s control and defend Avalon without killing you, we _will_ do it, no matter how difficult.>

Pidge sniffed. The jar of peanut butter fell on the pillows as she lunged and hugged Allura as tightly as she could, burying her face in her shoulder before she turned her face up to her.

 _< Thank you...> _Pidge whispered, a smile on her face, her eyes shining. <You have _no idea_ how much that means to me...>

Allura suppressed a little dying noise as she felt her magic start to surge and hum like a sea beginning to get battered by a powerful storm. <… You’re welcome, Pidge…!> she whispered as she hugged her back, discretely eyeing her skin for any signs of glowing lines of mana.

When her heart and her magic settled down, Allura realized how close they were. So close she could just could lean down, and kiss Pidge, just like that. And after a brief moment’s hesitation, she started to do just that...

Pidge’s eyes widened, her ears pulled back in alarm.

Allura noticed, quickly turning her mouth upwards planting a kiss on Pidge’s forehead instead of her lips.

If she noticed the tingling, chilly sensation of Allura’s magic seeping from her lips and onto her skin—one of the most popular signs of _romantic,_ physical affection among water weavers—she didn’t show it, nor comment on it.

Pidge pulled away first, and picked up the forgotten jar of peanut butter. <Thanks again for everything, Allura...> she said as she pulled out the spoon. <The talk, the hugs, the peanut butter… I… I _really_ needed that,> she muttered before she stuck into her mouth.

<Any time, Pidge,> Allura hummed.

Pidge pulled the peanut butter-free spoon out of her mouth, screwed the lid back on the jar, and put them both and her glasses on the side of her nest. <I’m going to sleep now,> she said as she laid down and curled up on her side. <It’s been a REALLY long day...>

Allura nodded. <Good night, Pidge.>

Pidge smiled at her. <Good night, Allura.>

And just like that, she was out like a light.

Allura stayed up for a little while, watching her sleep. She had rarely ever seen Pidge at rest, always busy tinkering with something, or completely unaware of her surroundings as her brain worked at the speed of light; now, here she was with her eyes closed, a peaceful smile on her face, her ears and tail idly twitching every once in a while as her chest slowly, steadily rose and fell.

It was _adorable._

Allura quickly stopped, and laid beside her, a polite distance away from her by Fae standards. She closed her eyes, slowly letting herself drift off to sleep, when she felt Pidge sleepily, clumsily reach out for her.

Allura’s eyes widened. She hesitated for a few moments, before she started carefully shifting about, till they were laying together face-to-face in each others’ arms. The still sleeping Pidge happily nuzzling her face into Allura’s chest. She blushed and giggled as she reached up and gently stroked her hair, running her fingers through Pidge’s _ridiculously_ soft fur.

 _< Suck it, _Shiro!> she thought to herself, smiling as she drifted off into unconsciousness.

* * *

The next morning, Shiro was standing in the Raucous Room, dressed in watcher’s training robes with his feet and hands bare.

He looked at the giant clock being projected on one of the wall panels, and wondered where Allura was. As Lance had found out the hard way, when she said 8:00 AM, she _meant_ 8:00 AM, and it was now 8:07. He was debating pulling out his comm-crystal and calling her, when she finally sauntered in.

He saw the giant, shit-eating grin on her face, and frowned.

“Guess who slept with Pidge last night?” Allura said as she came up to him. She pointed her thumbs at herself. _“Not you!”_

Shiro’s eyes widened in alarm. “What, _what?!_ What do you mean by that?”

Allura chuckled as she leaned in. “Take a guess~”

Shiro’s expression changed rapidly, going from shock, to horror, to anger, then finally, resignation. “I take it you two are officially girlfriends now…?” he asked sadly.

The pause was brief, the twitch in Allura’s ears barely noticeable, but to Shiro, it told _oh so much._

He slowly grinned. “Hey Allura, what _exactly_ did you mean by ‘slept with Pidge last night’…?”

Allura leaned back, the glimmer in her eyes a little less bright than before. “That she came over to my quarters last night, and slept in my nest together,” she replied calmly.

“’Slept’ is in ‘had sex,’ or just ‘laying together unconscious’?”

No response.

Shiro chuckled and shook his head. “This is _really_ sad, don’t you think Allura?”

“Any sadder than your inability to confess your love for Pidge for all this time~?” Allura chirped.

Shiro’s grin disappeared in an instant. “You know what, let’s just get right to the Air Fist training...”

Allura chuckled. “Oh, but Shiro, this IS Air Fist training! Please, walk with me, and I’ll explain.”

Shiro didn’t look convinced, but obeyed, staying by Allura’s side as they roamed around the Raucous Room.

“The key tenets of this school are abusing weaknesses, unpredictability, and deception, being like air seeping in through the cracks in a wall,” Allura explained. “So it is that one of the earliest and most important lessons for any advanced student is knowing how to throw their enemy off-guard, or better yet, catching them unaware, defeating them before they even realize that they are being attacked.”

“That doesn’t sound even _remotely_ fair,” Shiro said.

“That’s the point!” Allura replied. “Unlike the martial arts and fighting styles the First Settlers had imported over from the Old World, the Elemental Fists were developed in response to, and are still being improved according to the constantly evolving and never-ending dangers we Fae face here in Avalon, be it from the wildlife, each other, or as of 1,000 years ago, you humans.”

“A hungry snapjaw isn’t going to give you a handicap because unlike you, they have several hundred pounds, armoured hides, and teeth sharp enough to snap a fully-grown Fae in half with one bite.

“Neither will the watchers who have blades meant to slip in-between their scales and cut the vulnerable flesh underneath, and magics and potions meant to electrify the water they hide in, turn their advantage into a potentially lethal liability.

“There are no ‘rules of engagement’ or ‘fair fights’ in nature, and our combat arts reflect that, which bring us to the first lesson of Air Fist training--”

Allura casually swept Shiro’s legs out from under him, he went crashing face first into the floor.

_Thud._

“--From the moment training begins, and until it is formally declared over or on-hold, you must constantly be on your guard, for your teacher and your fellow students are given free reign to beat the ever loving crap out of you whenever, and wherever they feel like it, ideally when you are least expecting it.”

Shiro pushed himself up from the floor. He saw Allura holding her hand out to him; he scowled, and ignored her.

“ _Very good,_ Shiro!” Allura said as he got back on his feet. “You saw right through that trap!”

Shiro smiled.

Allura casually smashed her palm into his nose.

Shiro reeled, staggering back with his hands over his face.

“But not through that one~” Allura chirped.

“So what, do we just spend the next hour beating fighting each other, is that what advanced Air Fist training is?” Shiro asked as he got into a combat stance.

Allura chuckled. ““Of course not, Shiro!” she said as she waved her hands in the air.

Props, objects, and holographic simulations of humans and Fae started appearing around them, all themed around what you’d find in an office building of a human settlement.

“We’re going to be spending the next hour fighting each other with the help of anything and _everything_ we can get our hands on, using every last advantage our environment affords is,” Allura said as she grabbed a mug with magically simulated coffee inside of it.

She grinned. _“_ _Heads-up!_ _”_

Shiro’s eyes widened, before he slapped the flying mug out of the air, fake coffee splashing all over him.

It didn’t hurt, but Allura rushing in and tackling him through a cubicle wall certainly did.

The holographic office workers started screaming and panicking as Shiro’s advanced Air Fist training began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate the Kudos, the Bookmarks, and the Views you guys are giving this fic, but if you could also leave a comment--no matter how short--that would be MUCH appreciated. It's hard to feel motivated to continue this story when it seems like no one's reading it.


	10. Chapter 10

“Weave! _Weave!”_ Lance cried.

“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Keith shouted back as he fired a standard issue AFA assault rifle, the stock braced against his shoulder, the barrel of it jerking wildly from side-to-side.

In front of them, the holographic swarm of tiny ankle-biters kept on coming, some of them getting blasted into magical dust by the bullets, most of them smashing into the barrier just in front of Keith with gleeful grins and high-pitched giggles.

“Gah, this thing won’t point where I aim it at!” Keith cried as he reloaded his gun.

“That’s because you’re _still_ trying to fight the stabilizers and the targeting system!” Lance yelled. “Work _with_ the gun, not _against_ it!”

“Sweet Shepherd, is there anyway to turn them off?!” Keith snapped as he lowered the rifle. “Why the _fuck_ would you ever make a gun that tries to fix its own recoil and aim for you?”

“Because, that’s how you end up getting the most accurate and reliable guns possible!” Lance replied. “I can pull up the statistics right now that show all AFA-licensed weapons have a higher overall accuracy rate than any other brand, human or Fae made!”

“Yeah, well knowing my gun shoots 93 of every 100 bullets perfectly straight isn’t going to matter if I can’t actually get it to fire where I want it to, let alone hit anything!” Keith said as he cast a dirty look at the rifle. “Fucking aim-assist…’”

Lance scowled. “Hey, don’t blame the magitech for a user-side problem!”

“Oh, so I guess it’s because of your _top-notch teaching skills_ that I can’t shoot for shit with this thing!” Keith said as he put the rifle down on the counter.

The target practice holo shut down, Keith and Lance spent a few moments shooting daggers at each other, before the two of them groaned and backed down.

“Damn it, we really should have spoken up when Pidge paired us all off, no way in hell I’m learning how to shoot _any_ of these if it’s you doing the teaching...” Keith said as he gestured to the rack of human-made firearms on the side.

“Agreed,” Lance said. “Probably should have taken up Allura on that offer of more Water Fist training.”

Keith chuckled. “Yeah, knowing you, you’d probably fare even worse than I did just now.”

“It can’t be that bad, can it? Basic was just a whole lot of drills and learning the moves, meditating, and ‘getting into the Flow,’” Lance said, moving his arms and legs like he was going along with an invisible current. “What’s up with advanced?”

Keith put a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Let me put it this way...”

_Crash!_

Allura drop-kicked Shiro through a door and into a break room, jagged splinters flying everywhere. Hologram office workers dashed out of the way or got knocked down to the floor, their screams and panic filling the air as the two hit the ground.

Allura quickly sprang back up on her feet, Shiro scrambled up to his feet and to the counters on the far side of the room. He frantically grabbed at most everything he could throw—ceramic coffee mugs, metal utensils, aluminum soda cans—but her hypersensitive ears and superior reflexes let her dodge them all with ease.

Shiro came to the end of the counter, and to the holy grail of any office: the Auto-Cafe machine. He randomly punched order buttons, freshly made recyclable ceramic mugs fell out of the dispensers, brimming with more fake, holographic coffee, grabbed them just as Allura grabbed his head.

_Wham! Wham! Wham!_

Shiro desperately looked around in-between Allura giving him an extreme close-up of the menu. He noticed a rectangular box just to the side of the machine, the lid half-way open, glimpses of real, non-holographic frosting and pastry crumbs inside. He grabbed a jelly- filled donut with his prosthetic arm, and put it right up to Allura’s face.

She didn’t notice what he was doing until she had gooey, sticky, spicy-sweet firemelon jelly sprayed right into her eyes.

The golem in the testing chamber put its hands to its “ears,” seemingly screaming in agony as Pidge and Hunk blasted it with one of their recreations of Mero’s singing. From the way it fell to its knees, laid completely flat on the floor, and violently shook before it went still, they could tell it was another failure.

Pidge shut off the speakers, and the two of them waited for the last of the purple-pink waves of magic to dissipate or get absorbed in the walls before they pulled the ear-muffs from their heads. Hunk started to read the stats on a monitor, Pidge activated her recorder.

“Track #17 _also_ failed,” she said. “Subject not only showed any signs of subversion or aggression towards target dummies made to resemble Celestial Guard and assorted allies, it also seemed to have suffered in _extreme_ , horrific agony, before shutting down from the trauma.

“Highly suggest destruction of actual audio file, while keeping exact frequency for reference and possible recreation in the future; no telling what will happen if this leaks out.”

Hunk sighed as he compared the readouts from the other sixteen tests. <Looks like whatever Haggar did with Mero, it was one heck of a one-hit wonder,> he said. <We’ve got almost exact replicas of the sound, but we don’t have that something that makes it brainwash people.>

<Could be from the use of black sand, void steel, pure vitae, or the many other exotic materials we’re not getting our hands on, ever,> Pidge said. <Maybe we should just look at improving our gear’s magic defense in general, emphasis on sonic attacks.>

<Sounds like a plan,> Hunk said as he and her left the control room. <I’ve already got some prototype designs we can punch in the fabricators right away!>

Elsewhere, Shiro shoved Allura’s head into the scanner of one. He slammed the cover on top of her head, the machine fired up, dutifully making a 3D mould of Allura’s face: eyes closed from the glare of the beam, her left cheek smushed against the bottom, her lips curled into a scowl.

Allura threw her foot up into Shiro’s crotch; as he reeled from the pain, she pulled herself out, and shoved Shiro’s head into it, before slamming the cover on him, too.

The machine ejected the half-finished mould of Allura, and started making one of Shiro’s face.

Lance stared at Keith, unable to decide if he should look annoyed or horrified. “You’re shitting me right now, right?” he asked.

Keith shook his head. “Nope, _completely_ serious. People and folks have died from advanced training, let alone master level.”

“But this ‘training’ sounds crazy and ridiculously dangerous!” Lance said after Keith finished explaining. “And that’s _really_ saying something, considering what else we put ourselves through.”

“ _Avalon_ is crazy and ridiculously dangerous,” Keith said. “You may think you’ve got a taste of it back during your field trips with the AFA, but until you live out in the Country full-time for a year or two, you _really_ don’t know what the wilds are like.

“It’s why I trusted Fae weapons more than human ones—they’re designed to take a helluva beating from anything and everything, fire just fine even if you after you just unburied it from two tons of sand and shook it out, and I _know_ they’ll get the job done, unlike this piece of shit,” he said, gesturing to the assault rifle still on the firing range’s counter.

“And yet the bulk of weapons in active use for military forces, human or Fae, private or government, are all from human manufacturing,” Lance countered. “Are you saying that the billions of soldiers, justices, and watchers out there are basically using NERF guns and bats?”

“No, but I _am_ saying is that they’d do the whole realm a favour by using _real_ weapons, without fancy computers doing all the work for them,” Keith countered.

Lance scowled. “Okay! That’s it! I will not let this insult to my race—of which half of you belongs to, might I add—stand!” He gestured to the other rack of firearms on the side, all Fae-made. “Pick a weapon, any weapon, and let’s see if I can’t kick ass with it like I do my rifle!”

“Alright, Mr. Badass, if you want to get your ego torn to bloody pieces like that, who am I to complain?” Keith said as walked over. He looked over the selection, briefly debated giving Lance a log-cannon just to see him struggle to carry it around, but decided against it.

“Here,” Keith said as he gave Lance a repeater, a wrist-mounted machine pistol. “Rapid-fire, stock-issue weapon meant for versatility and ease-of-use over accuracy and raw stopping power, just like the AFA AR.

“Need some help loading and reloading it?” he asked as Lance strapped it on. “Newbies tend to keep taking their eyes out with the canisters the first couple hundred times they do.”

“I’ve got this!” Lance said as he braced the repeater on his other arm. “In fact, give me some ammo, and I’ll load and reload this thing like pro, first try.”

“Don’t keep me in suspense!” Keith said as he threw one at him.

Lance caught it. He slapped the release lever, slammed the canister in, and locked it into place. Keith watched as he spun the firing cylinder and peeled off a burst of bolts, then gave Lance a thumbs up.

Lance grinned triumphantly, slapped the release lever again, upon which the canister flew up into the air and hit him in the eye.

“GAH!” Shiro cried out as the staple-gun canisters bounced off his face.

Allura ducked to his blindside, and pounced on him; Shiro tried to dodge, but the tears blurring his vision made it impossible.

Thud.

The two were on the floor again, Allura on top of Shiro. “Not so fun being blinded, is it?!” she cried as she began to punch him in the head.

Shiro turned them over, and started blindly punching at her. Allura pulled her own reversal, and two began to roll and roll along the length of the now deserted office, cursing and punching all the while.

Bang! Allura stubbed her toe on the leg of a wooden chair.

“Ow! Ow! _Ow!_ Fuck!” Allura cried as her pinky toe began to throb.

Shiro stopped, and looked concerned. “Shit, Allura, you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she muttered.

“Good, I was worried for a moment there, Shiro said, before he headbutted her.

_Crack!_

Pidge and Hunk continued headbanging o one of their favourite Ice Lord tracks.

<Oh yeah!> Pidge said as she lowered the volume. <It’s _d_ _efinitely_ going to be “Soul of Steel!”>

<You sure?> Hunk asked. <The vocals on ‘Emerald Blaze’ might help screw up the resonance of a sonic attack even more—plus, the bass-line is better.>

<True, but it might help to be able to focus on the lyrics to try and ignore the attack itself,> Pidge said. <With Emerald Blaze being mostly screeching and screaming, someone might think it was just Mero’s song all over again.>

<Shall we test it out on the golems and see which is more effective, or if it’s going to be a matter of personal choice?> Hunk asked.

Pidge smiled. <Of course! We’ve got effectively infinite materials and funding here, right?>

<To the fabricators, then!> Hunk said, standing up and dramatically pointing back to the machines.

Pidge giggled, before the two of them got back to work.

<Hey Pidge, I’ve been meaning to ask, did you and Allura have that talk you needed last night?> Hunk said as they started punching in designs for the fabricators.

<We did, and it was pretty great,> Pidge replied as she did the same. <Thanks for pointing me to her, Hunk; it gets kinda hard to ask her, since well, you know...> she looked away, her cheeks turning light pink.

Hunk pushed the “Start” button, then patted her on the shoulder. <I understand. Have you ever thought of just telling her? Get it off your chest? I’m sure you and Allura can work it out.>

Pidge’s eyes widened and her ears pulled back, before she frantically shook her head. <Oh, no, I _can’t!_ Especially not now that--> she quickly shut her mouth.

<Now that what…?> Hunk asked.

Pidge paused for a moment. She debated telling Hunk for a few moments, before she mentally slapped herself and reminded herself that this was _Hunk_.  <I’m pretty sure Allura and Shiro are dating,> she said.

Hunk blinked. <Huh?>

<I’ve been noticing it for a while now, the way they’ve been stealing glances at each other all the time, how they’re suddenly so much less professional around each other, and their going off on that coffee date just cemented it,> Pidge explained.

<I’ll admit they haven’t gone out and confirmed it, but it’s just so _blatantly_ obvious, you know?>

Hunk looked conflicted for a moment, before he said, <I don’t know, there’s still a chance you might be wrong, right?>

<Eh, true, but I wouldn’t bet money on that...>

Hunk nodded. <So what’s your plan now?>

Pidge shrugged. <Go see what my other options are, I suppose. Support them as much as I can as their friend. Try not to cause unnecessary drama between them.> She paused. <Well, any more than I already have, anyway...>

Hunk’s eyebrows rose. <… Pidge, what did you do…?>

Pidge looked away, her cheeks red once more. <Well… you know how I had a sleepover with Allura last night, right?>

Hunk nodded, eyes wordlessly asking Pidge to continue.

<Well, after our talk, I kinda… pretended to fall asleep so I could snuggle up to Allura, and she kinda… snuggled back. I’m afraid Shiro’s going to take it the wrong way since he’s human, you know?>

Hunk paused, before he laughed. <Oh _man,_ Pidge, the way you were saying that I thought you and Allura--> he made a sexy animal noise.

Pidge’s cheeks burst into flames.

Hunk reached out and put his hand on her shoulder again. < _Dude_ , Shiro’s too chill of a guy to freak-out over something like Allura snuggling with you. Besides, have you even felt your fur lately? You’re soft like a _cloud_ , who wouldn’t want to snuggle up with you if they could?>

Pidge nodded slowly. <Hah, yeah… guess I’m worrying over nothing.>

<Pidge, trust me: even if Allura feels the need to bring up last night, it won’t put that much of a wedge between them. They’re the most mature of all of us, _no way_ they’d ever get this petty!>

At the same time, Allura and Shiro staggered into a restroom, the both of them battered, breathless, but still out for blood. The two of them grabbed the sinks for support, and glared at each other.

“Having an off-day, Allura?!” Shiro snapped in between pants for breath.

“Sort of, didn’t get a full night’s sleep!” Allura replied as she slowly started to walk towards him. “Stayed up for most of it being with Pidge, you know!”

Shiro scowled. “I thought we already made it _abundantly_ clear you and Pidge didn’t have sex last night!” he cried as he tensed up, getting ready for combat once more.

“Oh, we didn’t, you’ve got me there.” Allura grinned evilly. “Dosen’t mean that’s we didn’t PLENTY of other things, though!”

Shiro’s eyes widened.

Allura dashed forward, grabbing Shiro and slamming his head into the counter.

_Crack._

The ceramic fractured. Stunned, Shiro could only stagger along as Allura dragged him into a nearby stall. She threw him onto the toilet, he grabbed the edges of the bowl, while Allura grabbed the back of his head and chest.

Shiro’s eyes widened as his face came ever closer to the sparkling, very real water.

_Splash._

Allura quickly waved a hand in front of the “Flush” sensor.

She grinned as the sound of rushing water and garbled, panicked screaming echoed on the tile walls.

Shiro pulled himself out, collapsed on the side of the bowl coughing up water and wheezing for breath.

Allura stood up and casually leaned on the wall. “For clarity, ‘other things’ was talking about her personal problems, and helping her through them,” she hummed. “It was _really_ lovely— you could say we had quite the bonding moment last night!”

Shiro wiped the water from his face, before he gave Allura one of the dirtiest, most hate-filled looks he had ever made in his entire life.

Allura just grinned back.

“Training’s over!” she chirped, making gestures in the air before the props and scenery around them began to disappear. “I must say, Shiro, you did _remarkably_ well today, being able to keep up with me and trade blows for as long as you did, but I’m afraid you still have a _lot_ to learn if you’re going to become an adept at the Air Fist, let alone a master.

“After we cooldown and patch ourselves up, we’ll review the footage together and I’ll offer you some pointers,” she said. “At the very least, I can say with full confidence that you’re _much_ better at fighting than you are with romance!”

Shiro scowled as he pushed himself up. “You realize all these insults just makes me all the more determined to completely beat the ever-loving crap out of you next time, right?” he asked flatly.

Allura beamed. “That’s the point! I’ll admit I had reservations about numerous traditions with the Air Fist, but I have to admit: this was _fun!”_

“For the winner, at least...” Shiro grumbled.

Together, the two of them left the Raucous Room, already thinking about how they were going to utterly destroy the other next time.


End file.
